Bonbi Fruits of the Forest

Ah, Christmas...

2011-12-14T14:00:00.001Z

Wowee it's been a while since I last posted here...you have Christmas to thank for that!

You guys have been keeping me very busy with all of your Christmas orders and for that I can only thank you, it's proving to be an exceptionally busy season here for Bonbi Forest! One of my favorite things is seeing how many fellas are buying lockets for their ladies, it doesn't half make the heart all warm and fuzzy...

I just wanted to post to let you know that Cornish friends (and friends that find themselves in Cornwall this weekend) can come and buy some Bonbi Forest goodies directly from me this weekend at the Falmouth Christmas Festival, which is taking place on Events Square. The Christmas market is running alongside a Christmas food festival too with demonstrations from Rick Stein, sea shanty singing, Christmas carols, and lots of workshops for kids. Some nice pre-Christmas fun, more info about which can be found here --> Falmouth Christmas Festival

Here is a little picture of Falmouth I took a while ago...I love the fluorescent bouys bobbing alongside the boats on the grey water!

Let it snow...

2011-11-02T19:00:00.000Z

I do love a bit of snow once and a while and am hoping we see a little dusting here in Cornwall this winter. Just as long as it isn't the prolonged sort of heavy blanket that seems to cripple our silly country and stops me getting the the studio...I have done much sliding in the car this last couple of winters and can safely say that I don't enjoy it!

Since the turning of the clocks and the inevitable darkening nights though, my thoughts have naturally turned to more wintery themes and I have found that images of little snowflakes have been finding their way into my work. I have made a selection of brand new LIMITED EDITION lockets for you featuring these lovely little shapes, all of which have been adorned with a scattering of the usual Bonbi Forest charms and sparkles...Have a look see HERE in the shop. I do hope you like them...

There is also a little ring for sparkling up those fingers too!

Talking of wintery frozen things, tonight is the second episode of the latest David Attenborough documentary, Frozen Planet. last week's was amazingly beautiful and I am very much looking forward to this weeks! Have a read about it HERE!

A long overdue Lately...

2011-10-11T10:33:00.003Z

It has been a very long time since I posted a 'Lately...' post here hasn't it?! A number of reasons have prevented me from doing this, not least the breaking down of my computer a few weeks ago (it has since been written off, woes!) and although I have everything backed up it just hasn't been convenient for me to sort through my pictures yet.

However, I have recently joined the IPhone hordes and while I haven't abandoned my beloved camera (far from! I may even have to post a second Lately post of those pics too...) I have been merrily snapping away with Instagram and thought I'd share a few of those pictures from the last few weeks with you of the wonderful Indian summer, screen printing with the kids at Brannel School, beautiful foggy mornings we've been having and of course animals!

^^How funny is that last picture?!!^^

A change is as good as rest or so they say...

2011-10-05T13:45:00.002Z

Those of you that manage Facebook pages may or may not know that there is an annoying little thing with them that means that you can't change your page's title after you cross the 100 likes threshold. It has been bothering me for a while that my Bonbi Forest page holds the outdated name of 'The Bonbi Forest Indie Emporium' coined way back when Bonbi Forest sold not just my work, but the work of other designer friends...I shut that shop two whole years ago and think it's about time for a change!

I have a new and properly dedicated 'Bonbi Forest' Facebook page set up, and would love it if you would move your Bonbi Forest liking from the old page to the new...you could win a little something in the process if you do. Nice eh?

Every new like that the new page receives between now and the 15th October will be entered into a draw to win the Bonbi Forest item of your choice, with two runners up receiving a £10 gift voucher each...how does that sound? Go have a look see at the new page HERE!

A bit of music...

2011-09-29T10:59:00.004Z

I went to see Crazy Stupid Love last night which is a very sweet film (Ryan Gosling's performance in it is very excellent...Ahem!) and it reminded me that I haven't listened to this beautiful song by The Middle East for a long time, it is called 'Blood' and is really lovely:

When I first heard it I got a bit muddled though and thought it was something else, and upon returning home and googling it I found out my mistake. I urge you to listen to this as well though, it is just as pretty: Benjamin Francis Leftwich 'Atlas Hands'

Spots and Dots

2011-09-23T13:44:00.004Z

Those of you who came along to the Cornwall Design Fair in August may remember this new tee...or not as the case may be as it sold out rather quickly!

I really enjoyed playing with the conventions of print placement to give Spots and Dots it's little printed collar (adorned with leaf fronds, graphic blooms and tiny stars, of course) and spotty bib.

Spots and Dots can be seen and shopped HERE! I'd love to know what you think!

...and it's Autumn

2011-09-20T16:24:00.000Z

Where did that last month go?! It's been a little busy around here what with one thing and another and I can't believe we are two thirds of the way through September already...I've had my head down and it's passed me by! There have been some fun bits and pieces too, I will post a lately post soon (though it will be more like a round up of the last couple of months at this rate) but in the meantime I just wanted to show you the new Bonbi Forest rings which I added to the shop over the weekend...

They feature the same landscapes and critters that the lockets do with adjustable ring bands to fit most fingers...I have tried and tested my favorite (which is the Dark is the Night Stars design at the bottom there...) on many occasions and the flat pad makes them easy to wear and slide your hand in and out of pockets and your bag. I am very pleased with these guys! See and shop them HERE!

More soon peeps!

Oh hai!

2011-08-17T15:29:00.000Z

A busy old week here this week! The Dark is the Night Locket was featured in the Guardian's Buy of the Day section on Monday which has set off some kind of locket frenzy...so amazing. Thank you everyone who has bought one, they'll all be on their way very soon!

Plus this weekend I am taking all of the Bonbi Forest wares down to Trereife House near Penzance for the Cornwall Design Fair...come and see me if you find yourself in Cornwall at all this weekend. Details HERE!

Lockets galore...

2011-08-12T17:43:00.000Z

The beady eyed among you will have noticed that this week I have been adding four new illustrated lockets to the clan.

In keeping with all things Bonbi Forest they feature a selection of themes tied up with my obsessions with things of the night, our feathered friends and the lovely Pegasus. I of course couldn't have a collection of pictorial items without a little house in there too...

Have a look see at these shiny pendants in the Bonbi Forest shop HERE! I hope you like them...

Right now I am in a Friday evening celebratory mood as today the lovely Miss Pia pony and I scored well and won at our first attempt at the next dressage level up (Advanced Medium for those in the know). We have turned a bit of a corner with our dressage dancing and it feels good...

Have a good weekend folks!

Who's been wearing Bonbi Forest?

2011-08-11T16:53:00.004Z

I think the Equus tee looks great with a little black blazer...I usually wear mine with my high waisted jeans but I think I'll be taking a leaf out of model Charlotte De Carle's style file, digging out my jacket and wearing it loose! What do you think?

See and shop the Equus tee HERE!

Oh yes...

2011-08-07T16:39:00.001Z

I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend? Mine has been spent with friends and family, eating lots, gardening and riding the black beauty Miss Pia Pony. I have even spent part of it dressed as Margot Tenenbaum. It's thundery here this afternoon so I am inside playing with paints and taking pictures of new work...and here is a peek! Oh yes, the first ever Bonbi Forest rings will be available soon:

Dark is the Night is here at last

2011-08-04T11:13:00.001Z

The Dark is the Night Slouch Sweaters are in the shop at last, hurrah...See and shop them HERE!

I have just sent out my latest newsletter and wanted to put together a star themed image when it occurred to me how many stars there are in my shop already, I do hope you like them as much as I do...

I also have a FREE SHIPPING offer on for you from now until Midnight on Monday 8th August...just enter the code HAPPYFREESHIP at checkout to get your free ship shop!

Lately...

2011-08-02T09:55:00.002Z

Horrible! Horrible! Horrible food!...

It's been a busy couple of weeks here and I feel like I have been cramming a lot in!

These are some of my favorite moments including more rainbow birthday cake making, watching the birds eat the awful discarded layers before I managed to get the cake mix to cake tin ratio right, birthday celebrating (love those money napkins, don't you?!) playing at tourists when my lovely friend Emily came to stay, picking pretty blooms from my favorite place in the world, hanging out with buddies, and that awful, awful orange dinner that was so bad it was funny!

More new pieces soon including the starry jumper I posted about last week...Hurrah!

A Starry Story...

2011-07-29T13:22:00.002Z

A new jumper at last! Here is the result of all those stars I was printing yesterday in a little gif animation for you showing a peek into the slouch sweater forming process...I'd love to know what you think?

I have wanted to make a starry top for ages and these navy blue marle sweaters are just the ticket for such a design. I have named it to go along with the Dark is the Night Locket and I have a feeling there will be more in this little celestial line. I do like stars I do!

Dark is the Night Slouch Sweaters will be available soon...watch this space!

What's been cooking?

2011-07-28T19:04:00.000Z

Stars! This is just a little peek at something I have been printing up today...stars are never far from my work it seems! We are very lucky here in Cornwall where we live, there are no street lights and on a clear night sky you can see so many stars, even the milky way snaking itself across the sky.

One of my most memorable star gazing moments was a few years ago and me and my lovely cousin Evie had been out feeding the horses their late night haylage. It was such a clear night and we stood leaning on a car looking up and we saw so many shooting stars, I think it must have been a meteorite shower or something, absolutely amazing!

Anyway, further Bonbi Forest starryness will be revealed tomorrow...

Lately...

2011-07-20T11:22:00.002Z

I haven't done a 'Lately' post for ages! I haven't really taken that many pictures this last few weeks, something I must rectify. Just looking back through these pictures reminds me of how good the weather was at the beginning of the month and how miserable it is now...C'mon summer, pull your socks up!

It has been interesting seeing what the garden at our new house is going to show us next and the beautiful rose here was a lovely surprise...such a gorgeous colour. As I thought it would though, my gardening enthusiasm has waned somewhat recently (I blame the rain, yeah?) and the weeds are sprouting with a vengeance once again. I must do some tending so I can see what else it is going to offer us before the summer is out...

We also seem to get lots of visitors in our house...in the last week there has been five beetles and two little lizards! Unlike looking forward to seeing what comes next in the garden, I am not looking forward to seeing what comes next on the crawly visitor side of things. At all.

Day in the Life - Tuesday July 12th...

2011-07-13T15:17:00.007Z

Thank you all for the AMAZING response on here, Twitter and Facebook to the lockets yesterday! I am so pleased that you like them...if you haven't seen them yet, then have a look see HERE! Thank you!

So, I was having a look on Twitter the other day and spied that my Twitter pal, @mooosh aka Claire of Miso Funky, was advertising another round of her Day in the Life series where people who blog make a post about anything of note that happens on a certain day. I thought I would take part this time around, so here is what I got up to by the hour on the nominated day of Tuesday 12th July 2011:

(I tried to take some photos throughout the day but forgot quite a lot...but here are a few for you anyway!)

First thing and between 7 & 8am: I wake at some ridiculous hour that is still the middle of the night to me but morning to Mark when he gets up to go cycling. I go back to sleep.
I wake again when he wakes me to tell me that he's going. I go back to sleep for what feels like 5 minutes and then wake again when my alarm goes off at 7:30. I press snooze, and wake again at 7:40. I press snooze and wake again at 7:50. I press what I think is snooze.

8 to 9am: I wake up having been lying on my arm at 8:30 with lots of pins and needles. Late already! I make the bed while I am still in it (a lazy habit of mine!) and finally get up and don my dressing gown and go downstairs. I turn on my computer and make breakfast of Dorset Cereals muesli (lush) and a lemon squeezed into some water and a bit of barley squash to make it taste decent, it's re-hydration, a hit of vitamin C and a morning ritual.
I eat breakfast in front of my computer and spy a beetle walking across the floor, the third in a week! I can't decide if we are infested or if it is the same one coming back in. I grab a glass and some paper and get it outside. Make a mental note to tell Mark not to drink from that glass. In hindsight I can't remember if I did this or not. Sorry Mark.
I finish breakfast and switch on the pre-prepared and brand new 'Lockets' section of the shop. Woo!

9 to 10am: I sort some emails and then decide I should wash my face and make myself a bit more presentable before Mark gets home. He gets back while I am mid fringe wash. Never mind. Then the big decision while getting dressed: Shorts or jeans??? Decide on jeans and then go back downstairs to finish updating the website which involves editing images in Photoshop and juggling products around in the shop.
I am also sending out a newsletter today so I log into Mailchimp and check that the email I wrote yesterday is correct and that all of the links work and schedule it to go out later today (then I have a quick gander on Facebook)

10 to 11am: I ponder what I am meant to be doing for a minute and faff a bit looking for jewellery findings online. Turns out I can do this for an entire hour and not buy anything! I have made some decisions about what I need to buy when I have worked out quantities etc though, not an entirely wasted hour.

11 to 12 noon: The email goes out, yay! I make some lunch to take to the studio - salad with lots of feta and beetroot, yum. I eat lots of Philadelphia oatcakes while I do this, probably more than is healthy...
I glaze a batch of the new lockets, gather all of my stuff together, press refresh on the Mailchimp report too many times and at the last minute before I leave remember that I have to print out lots of cards for a wholesale order.

12 to 1pm: Finally get up to the studio and then begin the order processing, printing out invoices and addresses. I am pleased to see that I am making good headway on my to do list despite my needless procrastination earlier!

1 to 2pm: I sort out some more emails and call through an order and payment to American Apparel. My mum and dad are about so I have a chat to them and eat my lunch. Dad remarks that my colourful salad looks like a big bowl of sweets. Once upon a time it would have been just that, or a big pile of pancakes, but unfortunately I can't get away with that kind of lunch these days...

2 to 3pm: I go back into the studio and pack up the orders and fold and pack a load of cards...all the while listening to The Archers (always enjoy a bit of The Archers) and then a Torchwood play on radio 4, which isn't really my kind of thing but I was surprised to find that I quite enjoyed it!

3 to 4pm: Back to the computer and I have a quick read of Creative Boom's '100 inspiring ways to market your business', I am always fascinated by stuff like this! Then I hem some scarves that I printed last week. In between the rattling of my sewing machine I listen to snippets of a program about Red Kites.

4 to 5pm: I carry on hemming scarves and then check my emails for orders again in time to get them ready to post today. There is some more so I process them and pack them up then set off for the post office in Tregony. I get there dead on 5pm. I am relieved as I am usually told off by the postman if I get there later than that...He doesn't like it if I turn up with loads of post to process too late in the day, which is fair enough!

5 to 6pm: The postman is in a bit of a flap because his main computer has had a power cut, he switches to the other one though and the day is saved and all of the post is sent through. Hurrah!
After the post office I head over the road to the shop and bump into a lady I know, we have a little chat and I buy two Euro Millions tickets on Mark's instruction (£160 million jackpot tonight dontcha know?!) Adele's 'Someone Like You' is on the stereo in the shop which then replaces the song I have had in my head all day (Jamie Woon's 'Night Air') and I sing it badly in the car on the way back to the studio.

6 to 7pm: I check my emails again and send all of the order confirmation emails and tidy up. Then I put on some fitness wear and head to the gym where I was a bit lazy and didn't do my last stint on the crosstrainer. I remind myself that I am riding in the morning so needn't feel too bad about it. I am good at talking myself out of doing stuff in the gym.
I drive home and see Mark briefly before de-sweating myself in the shower. I turn the oven on in preparation for dinner...so HUNGRY!

7 to 8pm: I chop loads of vegetables to roast. We are having roasted vegetable pasta with pesto...an easy favorite in this household. Then I sit down to watch my guilty pleasure: Eastenders. Oh the shame!!! It's so bad it's good...

8 to 9pm: The food is finally ready so we eat at last. I thought the carrots were a little flavourless but on the whole it was delish! then Mark and I had our usual post dinner flop on the sofa having eaten too much and find ourselves watching 4 rooms for the first time. I don't think I will be wasting time watching that again, so boring! We both whinged all the way through it but didn't change the channel.

9 to 10pm: Mark washes up and I watch a documentary about perfume on the recommendation of our friend Rob. It is very enjoyable and I learn that there is such a scent called Civet which comes from a wild cat's anus. Lovely stuff.
I check my emails again and am pleased to see that there has been some more locket love, such a great response today! Then Mark comes back in and we start working on the new Bonbi Forest trade website.

10 to 11pm: I check the Euro Millions results. We haven't won...boo. As consolation I cut us both a slice of Lemon Half Moon cake and make Mark a cup of tea and me some barley squash (I don't drink hot drinks) we eat that, work a bit more and then decide to call it a day just before 11. Bedtime!

So there you have it, my day on Tuesday the 12th! Not the most creative or inspiring of days but then again days like this are a necessity to keep things running smoothly...answering queries and emails, tidying up half made things and sourcing new materials are all part and parcel of running a creative business. Back to painting and creating later in the week for me!

Illustrated Lockets are here!

2011-07-12T11:35:00.001Z

Well finally, after giving you some little peeks I have got my new Illustrated Lockets in the shop! Hurrah!

I have been trying for a long time to incorporate my drawings and paintings into my jewellery in a way that is a little different than the usual methods, and I finally found a way that I am very pleased with...I'd love to know which are your favorites?!

Have a look see in the shop HERE! They have their own dedicated section and all.

I have also been rooting through my HUGE stash of charms and beads as well and have found a little handful of these tiny, tiny lockets which have been adorned with vintage flowers. They are also in the shop and are a snip at £9:50...a little treat for someone special perhaps? I have lockets on the brain at the moment, can't get enough of their little hinged forms...!

Vintage dainties...

2011-07-07T18:08:00.001Z

I have so many beautiful beads and charms in my studio that I have amassed over the years...some of them I only have one or two of. It seems a shame to have them just sitting there so I have been making some limited edition jewels for you (you may have noticed this from my last posts...!) special pieces, using the vintage and rare selection of goodies I have at my disposal...

The latest limited edition additions to the shop are these oh so dainty vintage Swarovski bead necklaces. They have been strung on very tiny vintage snake chain along with vintage brass cubes and super sparkling new Swarovski (I do like my Swarovski sparkles!) There is only one of each of them too. Have a look see in the shop...I'd love to know which is your favorite!

End of line...

2011-07-06T09:57:00.001Z

This week the lovely boutique Cherry Cherry in Norwich closed it's doors for the last time, which is a loss indeed to the British independent craft and design scene. I had some Bonbi Forest wares stocked there and a few pieces from the Cherry Cherry inventory have come back to me so I have added them to the shop for y'all. A couple are pieces which I no longer make like the Flight Deer Necklace below, and Treasure Trove Necklace of which I only have one or two of each here now...There is also a new Limited Edition and End of Line section in the shop so Bonbi exclusives are easier to find. Have a look see!

In other news I am still working on the new things for you...as well as the Cat Face I showed here last week, raindrops, blooms, stars and little birds will be landing soon in jewel and tee form. I can't wait!!!

Lately...

2011-07-03T10:57:00.001Z

Tiny snake

Pasty in the park

Homemade bird deterrent

Mackerels

Pressie from dear friends

Triffid

A few pictures from this last week or so. I saw my first grass snake, a little baba one! My friend found it just hanging out in the car park at the stables. It is quite a rarity to see one since they are notoriously shy and apparently even play dead if they are disturbed. Clever things they are...

Mark and I also set to work de-weeding our field of a garden. Neither of us are very green fingered (I am the woman who managed to kill a cactus after all, yes, I am THAT BAD at this stuff) but I actually quite enjoy the slash and burn approach to gardening that we have developed. I discovered a strawberry plant in the undergrowth and made a bird deterrent for my other strawberries. There is a cheeky blackbird that keeps munching them before I can get to them. Not any more, ha haa!

The plant in this last picture is amazing...we found it amongst the weeds. It kind of looks a bit 'Little Shop of Horrors' before it opens, but then it flowers this beautiful flower that lasts for a day before all of the petals fall off. The bees love it! - E D I T: Turns out that after a little investigating (and the brilliant plant knowledge of my friend Gemma) that it is an Opium Poppy. Mystery solved...

In other news I have some very limited edition pieces that I am adding the the shop at the moment such as these butterfly pendants...have a look in the shop to see more...

I can't resist...

2011-06-30T15:06:00.002Z

I have been ITCHING to show you my new work for AGES...and I can't hold back anymore. So here's a peek at one piece in a whole pile of newness:

CAT FACE!

This guy and lots more will be available soon!

Botanicals

2011-06-22T11:02:00.000Z

Here are some works in progress! I am developing new things, very pretty things which I hope you will like...

In other news: My Big cats scarf is now available in a brand new beautiful dove grey colour, I love how the blue pops against the grey. It comes in the usual square and rectangle shapes so you have a choice of styling, have a look see HERE!

Also, what has happened to our summers? This unsettled weather is getting boring now...

Pictures of a week (or so...)

2011-06-17T07:56:00.000Z

Here are some pictures from the last week and a half or so. Pia and I went to a competition where we had a win and a second (super pony!) and as well as making new things for the shop (more on that soon!) I have been getting back into my painting. I go for long stretches where I don't paint much and concentrate on other things and then all of a sudden I just have to do something! What is coming out now is a little darker than previous work and there is a little peek below...

I hope everyone has had a good week...don't forget that the mid season sale is running in the shop until the end of June. I have added some new items to it since it started, some discontinued and sample tees and some more of the gorgeous Agate Pendants, of which there is only two left! See and shop HERE.

(Also, apologies if you have been in the shop lately and things have periodically been a bit slooow...my beauteous beau of a web guy, Mark, is onto the server people for me and will hopefully have it fixed soon.)

Heart Petal:

Me sat on Miss Pia...

Panoramic Pia

Summer Sunset

Bright Pink!

Swans and their Cygnets

Floral sketching..

Got a little sale going on...

2011-06-13T09:47:00.001Z

How was everyone's weekend? I had a good one...my beau Mark came back from a week away cycling up a mountain in France and Miss Pia and I went to a dressage show where we had a win and a second place. What a good horse she is!

If you are a subscriber to my newsletter you will have had an early bird heads up and already know that I have a mid-season sale going on in the shop! I have lots of new things on the boil and need to make some room for them, so I am having a little clear out...lots of items are up to 30% off and some of the existing sale items are further reduced...

Also, did you see that the Fuchsia Equus Scarf was featured on ITV's This Morning show last week? How exciting is that?!

Anatomy of a Sketch...

2011-06-07T07:26:00.000Z

Just playing...

Shots from the last week...

2011-06-06T07:50:00.000Z

How has everyone been? So while the 29 project is over I still want to post photographs of things I have done and seen here, it seems a lot of you like them and since I have the soopa new camera it seems silly to stop doesn't it?

So here are some pictures from the last week or so including beautiful wallpaper at The Cornwall Spa Hotel, celebration bubbles, a self portrait testing the new tripod, make up freebies from 17 cosmetics (LOADS of 'em!) , days by the sea and cats...lots and lots of cats...

Apologies of you aren't that fond of cats. It is a bit cat heavy here, but they tend to be more willing subjects for new camera playing than most people I know...

I have lots of new ideas I am working on at the moment which is all good. I will post progress pictures and such as I work on things...I feel like ideas are coming together well right now, which is only ever a good thing and I am excited to show you! Things have to arrive in the post first though which is always a test of patience...more soon I hope!

...and the winner is...

2011-06-01T11:54:00.000Z

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Bonbi Forest survey! Your comments and answers are all very insightful and have given me lots to think about and work on and I really do appreciate all of your very sweet comments and suggestions.

There were so many of you that took part, well over 200 of you, that I have decided to offer up two vouchers to two lucky winners who will each be receiving gift certificate codes to spend at their leisure...hurrah!

Obviously since it was an anonymous survey I don't have the winners actual names to congratulate them, but using the power of Excel spreadsheets and the trusty Random Number Generator, the winners are the fabulously email named daisycakemonster and emmaclaireleedham.

Well done you two, I shall be in touch shortly with your vouchers!

Sorry for the wordy post here...I will put up a post with pictures for your perusal soon...

Les Fleurs...

2011-05-28T11:07:00.000Z

Tomorrow Mark and I will have been married for a year...we have been sent some flowers from his wonderful mama!

Thank you to everyone who has taken part in the Bonbi Forest survey so far. I am amazed at how many of you have, and there has been some really insightful and inspiring responses, thank you! Don't forget that you have until Tuesday night to take part if you haven't already. You can receive a £5 off code to use in the Bonbi Forest shop for your efforts, and entry into a £50 voucher prize draw...hurrah!

29 Project: The finale!

2011-05-25T10:50:00.003Z

I am posting this LAST 29 Project update a little later than I had hoped for a reason that only became glaringly apparent to me when I edited the last few pictures and the very last one was only day 364...Surely there should be 365?!

Somewhere along the way, around the Day 188 mark I got a little confused and doubled up my day numbers, there are two day 188s on this blog and day 184 has been marked as a second day 183 on Flickr, whoops!! thankfully all the dates are correct and I haven't missed any days out, but how on earth did I manage that?

ANYWAY, so it's over! A year of photographs and amazingly I only missed taking a few pictures which I replaced with drawings or things I had seen that I found interesting. I think there were 4 missed picture days in total, not bad going for me! I have enjoyed doing the project, and looking back over it, it has reminded me of things I have experienced, made, done, enjoyed, cried at and stressed about, as well as forcing me to take note of the seemingly mundane aspects of life, or things I see every day, just so I'd get a picture on those days where not much of any note happened.

So here it is, the final installment of the 29 Project:

Day 359: Monday 16th May - Strawbs are on their way! After returning from ATP, Mark and I headed over to my folks house to see my brother who had returned from hospital in Belgium. My dad has lots of strawberries on the go which are well and truly on their way. I love fresh garden strawberries.

Day 360: Tuesday 17th May - Video Star. this is actually a still from a video Mark and I made to send to our friend Mr Jack T Cooper, whose 30th birthday it has been lately too. He had a big surprise birthday party thrown for him in Brighton, and all the buddies that couldn't make it were asked to send videos instead. What a nice idea!

Day 361: Wednesday 18th May - Garden Pretties. So sweet and I LOVE this colour.

Day 362: Thursday 19th May - Scruffy Snoozy Face. Clifford has taken to snoozing right in the middle of the floor in my parent's conservatory...

Day 363: Friday 20th May - First Married Birthday - This card came in the mail today (Mark's nan's writing, I can tell) addressed to me as a Mrs. It's not the first Mrs mail I have had by far, but it is the first birthday card...

Day 364: Saturday 21st May - Yay, Horse Cake! My friends and I celebrated my birthday a couple of days early (since the actual day is a Monday, boo.) and they made this AMAZING cake for me! After consuming some bubbles and lots of this cake, we headed into Falmouth where I got bought copious amounts of rum and mojitos. Ace!

Day 365: THE LAST DAY! Sunday 22nd May - Lanterns. So the last day of the 29 project and this 'exciting' picture is all I could come up with! It's in keeping with the rest of the project, yeah? Anyway, it was the last day of my 20s and I spent it feeling fuzzy with friends, doing a spot of weeding in the garden and hanging lights that I have been meaning to hang for ages...pretty normal really.

...and turning 30: So day 365 was the last day I used my old Olympus camera too as my wonderful beau, Mark, bought me a brand new shiny, soopa doopa camera for my birthday!! For various reasons I had known about it for a while, but I didn't get it until the actual day.
Here is me in Panoramic mode having a 30th birthday glass of Rosé on the ay home from the Lost Garden of Heligan. I had a lovely day, and 30 isn't so bad really!

I need to think of a new project now...It will be weird not doing this! Thanks for sticking with it and all your comments and likes over the course of the project. I do hope you have enjoyed it!

I wanna know what you think...

2011-05-20T09:59:00.000Z

You may have already seen this if you subscribe to the Bonbi Forest newsletter, or follow me on Twitter or Facebook, but here it is again in case you missed it:

Click the pic to take the survey...Thank You!

29 Project Update: Days 351 - 357

2011-05-20T09:37:00.000Z

Sorry for the lack of updates this last week or so...It's been a funny old time getting over jet-lag (up with the sparrows most days, most unlike me), worrying about my brother, and his girlfriend who is also very poorly too (Get well and come home soon Mo xxx), generally trying to get back into work, and then scuppering all that by whizzing off to All Tomorrow's Parties for the weekend!

Anyway, I am back on it now...I can't believe how few 29 project pictures I have left to take, my birthday is on Monday! I thought I would update you until the last week, and then you can have a complete last week in one go...

29 project: Days 351 - 357...

Day 351: Monday 9th May - Ginger fail. It almost rivals Carrotgate back at Christmas time where I ordered 3.5kg of carrots instead of 350g. I don't know what happened here, but I only needed 3cms of ginger. Woops!

Day 352: Tuesday 10th May - Sketching with Printing. I had cleared most of my admin from the holiday and I decided after so many weeks not doing much making at all, I really, really, really needed a day doing just creative stuff. So I played with some screens and some colours and sat down with some books and had a great afternoon.

Day 353: Wednesday 11th May - Miniature Forest. Loving the garden at the moment (though you may have noticed I always love the garden, it's just that this time of year is so special...)

Day 354: Thursday 12th May - ATP Fodder. The night before All Tomorrow's Parties festival and for once I am being organised about food, rather than stopping at Indie Tesco in Minehead right before we get into the festival and queuing at the checkout for ages with loads of other festival peeps buying beer and crisps and pizza.

Day 355: Friday 13th May - Shoot 'em up at ATP. We did watch some bands, but in between times there was some gravitating towards the arcade machines and bowling and hanging out in the chalet...

Day 356: Saturday 14th May - Quack Quack....and also between seeing bands we did some feeding the ducks...

Day 357: Sunday 15th May - Watching Bands. Well, I have to be honest and thought that musically this was the worst ATP I have ever been to (and I have been to a lot of them in the last 10 years). Despite that, I had such a fun time hanging out with some good buddies and it was a fun weekend. There were some gems in the line up, Beach House were my favorites and Actress and Omar S played some really fun sets too. I really want to go to the Christmas Battles/caribou one too this year...we shall see!

Right folks, the next 29 Project update will be the last...a week all in one go! I can't quite believe it has been nearly a year...

29 Project: Days 339 - 350

2011-05-09T13:06:00.000Z

I'm back from my travels! Seeing family in Australia was super, and Mark and I had a fun few weeks with them...the weather in Perth was spectacularly good to us (despite some of the Aussies saying it was getting cold...c'mon, 25˚ is like high summer here in Blighty!) The jetlag hasn't been too bad and I am back to work today...

We didn't return to the best news though...My brother, who is a talented racing driver, suffered a serious crash this week in practice at the Belgian race track of Spa and is in hospital recuperating after breaking his back for the second time (He had a much worse crash in 2006, which he eventually recovered from came back to win the Australian F3 championship in 2009...), it wasn't his fault and is ever so disappointing for him. Horrible, scary stuff for everyone, not least my parents and his girlfriend. Get well soon and come home Joey!

Anyway, after all that here is quite a big 29 project update for you from the last days of our Australia trip.

29 Project: Days 339 - 350...

Day 339: Wednesday 27th April - At Daniel Kitson. Not the best picture I am afraid. Mark, his brother Ian and I went to see comedian Daniel Kitson who was brilliant...If you get the chance, I highly recommend you see him, his stories are incredible!

Day 340: Thursday 28th April - Butterflies...Mark and I took a trip around Perth, saw some shops, bought some stuff, drank some beer and visited the museum where I saw these and many more butterflies...

Day 341: Friday 29th April - Royal wedding Day! We watched the wedding at our sister in law's parents house where they had laid on a delicious spread of meats and salads and champagne bubbles, all complete with a heart shaped cake, aww! In the daytime however, we went for a walk around Lake Monger, where I had been told by the visit WA website there would be lots of black swans...there wasn't! We saw about 4, these guys included, lots of ducks and some turtles. It was a beautiful day and a nice walk anyway...

Day 342: Saturday 30th April - Drawing and a journal. I have been trying to get to grips with some water pens I bought before we left for Australia (much easier than hefting brushes and water jars everywhere) and here is one of my little doodles alongside the Jill Bliss 'Drawing Nature' journal that I spied in a shop in Leederville and couldn't resist!

Day 343: Sunday 1st May - Tasting at the Vineyard. A trip to the vineyards is always in order if you visit Australia I find...we did some tasting, bought some very nice wine and then went to the Margaret River Chocolate company where I gobbled as much free chocolate as I could. Lush.

Day 344: Monday 2nd May (my mama's birthday!) - In Kings Park. Mark and I took a stroll around part of Kings Park (which is HUGE!). Here is a view over the river towards south Perth. It was a beautiful day.

Day 345: Tuesday 3rd May - Looking pretty cool here, yeah? Wearing my mandatory cycle helmet. We took a trip to Rottnest Island for the day where there are no cars and you cycle everywhere. It was beautiful and much quieter than I expected. We cycled a long way, looked at some pretty beaches and swam in the sea...a grand day out indeed. A little word of advice though...if you ever go, and you really don't like boats like me, do try NOT to get the 'Mega Blast' ferry. Hellish is the only way I can describe it. It's like being on a rollercoaster, but in a boat for half an hour. Bleurgh!

Day 346: Wednesday 4th May - Giraffe crane in Fremantle. We went on another little outing to Fremantle, a really lovely place full of old (by Aussie standards!) buildings and cute little shops...I spied this crane and couldn't help thinking it looked like a giraffe!

Day 347: Thursday 5th May - A no picture day. Well, today was the day I woke up and found out about my brother's crash, and to be honest, what with that and packing for the trip home, it wasn't the best day. Mark and I did get to the pool for a swim but with my brother's health hanging in the balance, picture taking was the last thing on my mind. So for the 3rd (or 4th?!) time in the history of the 29 project, I forgot to take a picture. Sorry about that peeps!

Day 348: Friday 6th May - Sunrise over the Southern Hemisphere. We left Perth on a jet plane at 6am and for a good few hours the sunrise chased us around the world. It was so sad saying goodbye to Ian, Natalie and Morwenna. We don't know when we will see them again...Goodbye for now Australia!

Day 349: Saturday 7th May - The green (and fog) of home! I love going away, but it is nice to get home (especially in the circumstances we have found ourselves)...I just wish we could have brought some of the Perth warmth with us. Brr!

Day 350: Sunday 8th May - View from a sick bed. So to finish off a week that started well and slowly descended into something scary, full of sad goodbyes and gloomy weather, I found myself stuck in bed on Sunday with a stomach bug. Oh yay. Anyway, I am feeling much better today and hope to be right as rain tomorrow!

Free Ship Shop...

2011-04-29T08:20:00.002Z

It's a right Royal weekend! A Royal wedding day off, followed by the weekend and then another bank holiday...nice!

I thought I'd add to the good stuff and give you guys a FREE SHIPPING treat for the weekend...Just enter the code ROYALDAYOFF at checkout and get your free ship shop on any order until midnight on Monday.

Visit the shop HERE!

Enjoy the weekend peeps!

29 Project: Days 334 - 338

2011-04-27T08:10:00.002Z

How was everyone's Easter holiday? Good I hope!

We are still having a good time here in the city of Perth, I can hardly believe we have been here a week already...there has been lots of hanging out in parks, admiring of views and pretty flowers, some spying of black swans and enjoying of the sunshine.

I have also been getting to grips with some water brushes I picked up and watercolour pencils, and when I have conjured something I am pleased with I will show you the results!

Here is a little 29 project update for you: Days 334 - 338...

Day 334: Friday 22nd April - White Rabbit. There seems to be quite a nice culture here of trying out different beers from the region and beyond. I found this one to be quite the taste delight, and also enjoyed the seemingly odd choice of illustration on the bottle...

Day 335: Saturday 23rd April - River views at Heathcote. We went to meet some of our host's friends in a park called the Heathcote Reserve and took in the views of Perth across the river. Here I am pictured with a quite slick 80's looking Mark. I don't know why he looks so slick and 80's here, he doesn't usually...

Day 336: Sunday 24th April - In the Pines. On Easter day, myself, Mark and his brother Ian, went to a music festival called In the Pines. It was organised by Perth radio station RTR and featured lots of Western Australian bands. It was a good afternoon...

Day 337: Monday 25th April - Perth Autumn. It seems weird that it is getting well into Autumn here, the temperature is still up in the high 20s and early 30˚c...like a glorious high British summer!

Day 338: Tuesday 26th April - Hanging at the pool. Mark and I decided it was high time we did some exercise after a week of not doing any, so we went down to the local swimming pool, which was lovely. There are lots of grassy areas to lie about on, which was a good job as I had forgotten how tiring swimming lengths was!

Enjoy the three day week!

29 Project: Days 324 - 333...

2011-04-22T07:28:00.001Z

Greetings from Australia!! It is very warm here in Perth which is great...I do like the sunshine, especially after such a long and hard winter. It is nice to get some vitamin D. I believe it is warm at home in the UK too? I hope you are all getting to enjoy it...don't burn yourselves peeps!

I will be trying to keep up a little with the 29 project while I am out here (which is coming scarily close to it's conclusion...only another month to go!) and also keep on top of shop news too.

Speaking of which: The animal print scarves are now also available as rectangles as well as the square version. Have a look at each scarf to see details of both HERE! Orders are shipping as normal, so if you want one you certainly don;t have to wait until I am back home at all...

Anyway, a 29 project update: Days 324 - 333...

Day 324: Tuesday 12th April - Cutting, cutting, folding, folding. To make sure the shop can still run while I am away i have been making stacks of the little origami pouches that my jewellery gets sent out in...that's a lot of folding.

Day 325: Wednesday 13th April - Bluebells. I have been really enjoying watching the transition of the springtime colours from yellow through to blue and pink and purple. The bluebells suddenly seem to be out and they are everywhere! I thought I'd get some snaps because I imagine they will all be gone by the time I return to the UK...

Day 326: Thursday 14th April - Blue water. A tub where I wash my screens has got little bits of garden debris floating in it and the blue pigment from printing flowed in there when I washed a screen...it was very pretty.

Day 327: Friday 15th April - Match your walls to your washing! Noted from a friends house in Falmouth...

Day 328: Saturday 16th April - New shoes! Twenty quid? Yes please, I couldn't resist!

Day 329: Sunday 17th April - Blossoms. Yes more...and another snap of some pretties that won't be around when I get back from Australia.

Day 330: Monday 18th April - Leaving Gatwick. ...and we're off! Our flight was a little late leaving and we spent a good while on the tarmac before we left, but finally we were on the move and headed for Dubai...

Day 331: Tuesday 19th April - Bye Bye Dubai. At some point, goodness knows when or which timezone I should have been observing, we landed at Dubai, swapped planes and began the last leg to Australia. The plane was crammed and Mark and I weren't sat next to each other...it was a long 10 hours sandwiched between two strangers at the very back of the plane!

Day 332: Wednesday 20th April - Hello Sunshine! We made it to Ian and Natalies and met our little niece and took a stroll in the sun. Ahhh...on holiday. Lush.

Day 334: Thursday 21st April - Indian Ocean feet. For the second time in my life I dipped my feet in the Indian ocean...it was a lot warmer than the last time we were here. I shall swim in it next time we go to the beach.

29 Project: Days 315 - 323

2011-04-14T15:10:00.000Z

I am in the midst of a mad time trying to sort everything out in the studio before my trip away so that hopefully orders can continue to ship and the shop won't be left high and dry for three weeks. Which incidentally, is the longest time I have been away from the studio since I started Bonbi Forest...eek!

In an attempt to gain a little respite from the chaos, here is the second part of a mammoth 29 project update, as promised!

29 Project: Days 315 - 323...

Day 315: Sunday 3rd April - Seconds. Pia and I went to another competition and it wasn't quite our usual success. We were 2nd in both of our classes, but I was pleased with that at that particular venue...last time we went there, there were peacocks next to the arena, and this time we had a bonfire with an an exploding can on it (anyone who knows horses will also know that horses plus peacocks, and horses plus exploding cans do not a great combination make...). It's always fun and games there!

Day 316: Monday 4th April - Sunroof Trees. I was waiting for Mark to come back to the car and noted the lovely polarizing effect our sunroof has...

Day 317: Tuesday 5th April - We like fruit. Our fruit bowl, freshly filled and overflowing and being spied on by a Donna Wilson tray...(The massive bottle of Chinon was a wedding present, Mark and I are very much looking forward to drinking that on May 29th, our first anniversary. Yay!)

Day 318: Wednesday 6th April - Blossoms! Seriously, I take pictures of these every year, as if I don't already have enough on my hard drive...I do love them so.

Day 319: Thursday 7th April - New business cards. I am afraid I have had to stop hand printing my business cards...I loved making them, but I am getting through them so quickly these days I just can't keep up! So here are a brand new selection from the ever impressive Moo:

Day 320: Friday 8th April - Settling up. I know, awful picture! You didn't expect to have a 29 project update without at least one blurry, yellow, last minute snap did you? Anyway, I took this as we were settling the bill at my li'l cousins 18th birthday dinner. I can't believe you are so grown up already Evie!!!

Day 321: Saturday 9th April - Glowing baby Jack. So after the 18th birthday dinner, I was up at 5:30 to go to another show with Miss Pia (we had another day of mixed fortunes...) and baby Jack was glowing in the early morning sunshine...look at his cute orange face:

Day 322: Sunday 10th April - Hanging in the hammock. What a gorgeous day this was! Mark and I took some time out to do garden stuff (nothing complicated, weeding, mowing, drinking beer...) and I have finally hung my hammock...I have had this for about 10 years, and now we have a decent garden I have somewhere to put it and it is brilliant!

Day 323: Monday 11th April - Look books. I have been working on these little Blossom Pop! look books, and here they are all printed up at last...hurrah!

29 Project: Days 306 - 314...

2011-04-13T13:04:00.000Z

It's been a while since I updated the 29 project...things have been pretty busy around here as I am off to Australia for nigh on three weeks on Monday. Sorting everything out to be left for that long is no mean feat, I tell ya!

Before I crack on with the update, don't forget that the 20% off Springtime discount ends on Friday...just enter SPRINGTREAT at checkout to treat yourself: S H O P!

Anyway...here is a HUGE update which I will post here in two parts, one today and one tomorrow:

29 Project: Days 306 - 314...

Day 306: Friday 25th March - Outside looking in. I had all the Blossom Pop! jewels lined up in my photography window in the studio, I liked the way they looked all colourful and upside down like that.

Day 307: Saturday 26th March - Falmouth late on a Saturday...Out and about, I snapped this rather blurry shot on the way back to a friends house and yes, that is someone I know taking a little rest/nap by leaning on that car in the foreground there...

Day 308: Sunday 27th March - 'Helping' with the gardening. It was a very lovely day and as I lazed on the un-hung hammock sipping a beer and poring over my new copy of Orla Kiely's 'Pattern', Mark mowed the field of a lawn we seem to have acquired. A very pleasant way to spend a few hours on a Sunday afternoon...

Day 309: Monday 28th March - Hazy Sunshine. I do love this time of year very much...Summer is almost upon us peeps!

Day 310: Tuesday 29th March - New slippers again...Well, the pretty be-pom pommed slippers I bought in Kefalonia last year finally gave up the ghost, so I picked up these cheapies from Sainsbury's. They'll do the job! Mark also had his wisdom teeth out today, but I won't dwell on that, it wasn't pleasant for him.

Day 311: Wednesday 30th March - Ladybird! A little nature update for you, and an outing for the super macro setting on my camera. We seem to have quite a lot of these guys in our front garden which is good, because I like them.

Day 312: Thursday 31st March - Pia's pictures arrived...A little bit of a cheat today I am afraid! This is a picture of me and Miss Pia at our disastrous regional championship outing earlier in the year which arrived today. Moments of harmony between the pair of us were few and far between that particular day, but there must have been a few to get this great shot!

Day 313: Friday 1st April - Grape beads. My mama came to see me in the studio today and thought the green vintage moonglow beads were grapes. I wasn't even trying to play an April fool!

Day 314: Saturday 2nd April - Long lost books. I thought that Mark and I had lost this big box of treasures five years ago when we moved from Brighton to Cornwall...but they have been found! I thought I had lost my Julie Verhoeven Gas book, J Otto Seibold pop-up Alice in Wonderland, all of my Edward Gorey books, my Patrick Heron retrospective, Davids Hockney and Shrigley collections and a whole host of other art book delights...I can't tell you how happy I am to have them all back!!!!!

A sweet commission...

2011-04-06T08:41:00.000Z

A little while ago I mentioned about a commission I was working on...well here it is!

I was contacted by one of my lovely customers, Sana, who said how much she liked my work and asked if I would design some wedding invitations for her and her husband to be. I had enjoyed making the invitations for our wedding last year so much, of course I said YES!

...and here they are: I hand screen printed them in three colours onto a pale blue recycled card stock and sent them out with pretty pink envelopes. The back of the invitation had all the information for the guests and further hand printed accents.

It was such a nice commission to do. Thank you Tristan and Sana for asking me to make them for you, I hope you have a wonderful wedding day!

Time for a Spring treat...

2011-04-04T12:16:00.004Z

Did everyone have a good weekend? I had a dressage competition with Miss Pia yesterday. It wasn't the most successful of days results wise, more about which I shall tell in my next 29 project installment. Other than that it was a lovely weekend!

Anyway, if you haven't already seen my latest email newsletter (below...), I just wanted to let you all know that I have a lil treat for you: 20% off in the shop!

Have a sooopa Monday folks...I will be back soon with some more hit n miss photographs from the last week to show you.

...and here they are!

2011-03-31T20:41:00.001Z

Blossom Pop...hurrah!

I have really loved making this new collection, and have been inspired by the sunny days of late and the freshness of Spring (which you could probably tell from my 29 project pictures...all those petals and blooms!)

It's been great to use so much colour again and I have mixed up juicy acrylics and vintage Lucite with crystal and metal for a clean, colourful, fun and sparkling look, with a handful of charms thrown in for good measure...I'd love to know what you think and I do hope you like it!

See and shop all of these bits and pieces in the Jewels section of my shop...

Coming soon...

2011-03-31T12:16:00.000Z

Hey folks...I just thought I would give you another peek at the new jewellery collection.

Say hello to Blossom Pop earrings!

Expect to see them and lots, lots more in the shop later today...

First Look...

2011-03-28T13:05:00.001Z

I hope everyone had a good weekend? I had a nice one, seeing friends and general merriment. I also received my copy of Orla Kiely's 'Pattern' through the post and spent a good deal of Sunday afternoon lounging in the garden reading it and getting inspired...A very good book indeed.

Anyway, so here I have a little treat for you: A first look at my newest jewellery collection...I am so excited to show these pieces to you in greater detail over the next few days. For now, here they all are hanging out in all of their spring colour glory:

Blossom Pop!

29 Project: Days 294 - 305...

2011-03-25T19:04:00.001Z

Here it is! The latest update...currently listening to Slow Dance by Matthew Dear. Love that track.

29 project: Days 294 - 305:

Day 294: Sunday 13th March - Sunset through a Donna Wilson cloud. I was kind of feeling like this cloud today. Mark was away for the weekend and I was missing him. Thankfully my mama and papa came over in the evening and made me a big roast lamb. That cheered me up a great deal!

Day 295: Monday 14th March - My eye, Pia's eye. She's such a sweetie that horse. Honestly, she lets me take all manner of silly pictures of her!

Day 296: Tuesday 15th March - Attack of the giant Clifford! Roar! I was out picking some daffodils and he came along for the fun of it...He's like a little dog rather than a cat!

Day 297: Wednesday 16th March - I heart yellow blossoms. More of these I am afraid! I pass them on the way down to the stables...they'll be gone soon and then you shall see no more pictures of them, I promise! In the meantime I am making no guarantees...

Day 298: Thursday 17th March - Beginning new things. I have been making new jewels (as you may have seen in my last post here), here are the beginning elements:

Day 299: Friday 18th March - The longest cat in the world. Another cat picture for you, because I am sure you haven't seen enough of those, right?

Day 300: Saturday 19th March - A picture fit for a frame! I have been waiting since last summer for this picture to go in this magnificent frame, both of which are beloved wedding presents. Our wonderful friend Timbatron (not his real name of course, but this is his real website) who took it, brought it over and it was in the frame within the hour. Hurrah!

Day 301: Sunday 20th March - Mess, glorious roast mess! I made a roast lunch for friends and made lots of mess. It was much fun...

Day 302: Monday 21st March - A blue kind of day. Printed thunderclouds, attended a funeral and the car popped. Not the most fun day I ever had.

Day 303: Tuesday 22nd March - Equus Printing. Aside from going shopping for a new car, I printed a batch of Equus scarves...The sun was good today, as it has been an awful lot lately. More please!

Day 304: Wednesday 23rd March - My first attempt at Satay, it was lush! It's from jamie's 30 minute meals. Of course it took me a hella lot longer than 30 minutes, and I didn't even consider attempting the desert part, but it tasted so gooood. I highly recommend it.

Day 305: Thursday 24th March - All that glitters. A fresh batch of Fly High birds arrived, and I set about making them into bracelets for you all...I do love Swarovski beads a lot.

A peek at jewels to come...

2011-03-23T14:44:00.001Z

It's high time really...my new jewellery collection is oh so nearly ready!

A peek:

(I also have a 29 project update coming this-a-way very soon...)

Lusting

2011-03-18T12:31:00.000Z

I have started a Svpply account! A place for me to lust over and look at lots of things I would like to own, without making my debit card want to cry...

Come and join me if you like: HERE!

A selection of my objects of desire...

If any of you are members, let me know!

29 Project: Days 285 - 293

2011-03-15T23:27:00.001Z

A 29 project update for you! As I have discovered to be classic of this project, some hit and miss photography skills coming up...

29 project: Days 285 - 293...

Day 285: Friday 4th March - View from a Dressage Lesson. Pia and I had another lesson and here is my view between her ears as we prepare to go in. Cardinham Woods in the late afternoon sun...

Day 286: Saturday 5th March - Air drumming on a Saturday night. Yep, awful picture, I'll confess I nearly forgot to take it, and this is all I have. Mark air drumming:

Day 287: Sunday 6th March - Warmth. I have grown to love the woodburner in our new home very much! It makes the house feel and smell all cozy, even more so on a sleepy Sunday evening.

Day 288: Monday 7th March - I Wonder. I finished reading the essays and admiring the fantastic illustration of this book, I Wonder by Marian Bantjes. I shall do another post about it soon...in the meantime, I highly recommend it.

Day 289: Tuesday 8th March - Pancakes! Ahh, Pancake day. Mark and I didn't eat anything savory for dinner, just a huge pile of pancakes liberally sprinkled with lemon and sugar...my dentist would be so proud. Ha!

Day 290: Wednesday 9th March - Giveaway winnings! I was a runner up in lovely Sami of Teasmade's birthday giveaway! This is the very generous haul that was popped through my mailbox. So many sweet treats, thank you Sami!

Day 291: Thursday 10th March - Rosettes. Pia and I had a competition and scored us some wins, adding to my mama's Christmas decoration stash (yes, she really does use the red ones as Christmas decorations...they are pretty festive after all)

Day 292: Friday 11th March - Petal Obsession. I have been thinking of ways to use the petals from my swiftly wilting flowers...I hope to have time to try some ideas before they shrivel completely. Watch this space!

Day 293: Saturday 12th March - Yellow Blossoms. I do love these yellow blossoms that have been popping up all over the garden, especially against the dark branches and white cloud sky. In a week or so they will be turning green...I do love Spring!

That's all for now folks...I will update the last few days of 29 projecting soon.

The dreadful situation in Japan is never far from my mind at the moment. I do hope my lovely Japanese customers and their loved ones are safe. My thoughts are with you all. Stay safe everyone.

Big Cats!

2011-03-15T11:09:00.000Z

It's finally here, another addition to my animal print scarf range - Big cats!

The print features a veritable clowder (Did you know that is what a group of cats are called? I didn't...) of leopards, tigers and panthers all getting along amiably and hanging out under the trees and next to a sparkling river...

As always it has been hand printed onto a pretty dusty green cotton/viscose...Meow!

I'd love to know what you think?!

In progress...

2011-03-11T18:19:00.000Z

Lining up and making sure the layers fit. Part of a commission I have been working on of late which I will share here soon...

I have had a day of research and scribbling and tidying. Expect new scarves and a 29 project update here in the next few days. Have a great weekend folks!

Colour Separations...

2011-03-07T18:29:00.002Z

Here is another peek at a new design I have been working on lately...It isn't laid out like this in the final piece, but when I am printing out the separate colours for the printing screen set up I like to fit as much as I can on one sheet.

Happy accidents ftw.

29 Project: Days 276 - 284

2011-03-04T14:17:00.002Z

Here is another 29 project update for you! I am sorry I haven't been able to show you much new work lately, I have been busy finishing off commissions amongst other things, but I hope to be able to show you lovely things soon. In the meantime, here is a peek at a new scarf design I have been busying myself with (If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook then you will probably already been privy to this peek...) and it will be in the shop next week!

Anyway: On with the 29 Project: Days 276 - 284...

Day 276: Wednesday 23rd February - Jewellery Making Mess. When things get hectic, I get messy, and then it starts to bug me, and then I tidy it all up. It needs a tidy here.

Day 277: Thursday 24th February - Hepworth Studio. My long time old friends Nicola and Chris came a visiting and we went down to St Ives for the day. I haven't been down there for ages and it was a great trip out. We went to the Barbara Hepworth Museum which, I am disgraced to say, I have never been to before. It is wonderful! Her studio and gardens are so very inspiring and are open to look at pretty much as she left them. If you find yourself in St Ives with not a great deal of time on your hands, I recommend going there rather than to the Tate (unless there is something fabulous on of course). You won't be disappointed. Here I am reflected in her studio with Chris in the doorway...There is another picture from her conservatory on my Flickr which can be seen HERE.

Day 278: Friday 25th February - Hepworth garden inspired windowsill. Whilst out in St Ives we spied a little market, and being suckers for succulents, Nicola and I couldn't resist. I bought two, which were oh so cheap, and they now sit in my kitchen windowsill with other prettys. The beginnings of a Hepworth garden inspired collection I think.

Day 279: Saturday 26th February - A new art wall. I got to have my first afternoon at our new house! So I set about hanging mirrors and pictures and wielding a drill and a hammer about. I started hanging our collection of little art pieces on the new art wall. Here you can spy pieces by Gemma Correll, Teasemade, Miso Funky and my aunt Gillian Keightley...(and of course, me!)

Day 280: Sunday 27th February - Clifford. Mark and I went to my folks for a big roast lunch with my extended family. When people started dispersing Clifford cat decided he would quite like to sit at the table too and join in the hi jinks. He's a bit fat isn't he? He is on a diet...

Day 281: Monday 28th February - Umm...this didn't quite come out as I had hoped. When I turned up, Lou Lou cat was atop the pile of logs. My camera took an age to start up and then she jumped down. I took a picture anyway. That is all I have for today's picture, sorry!

Day 282: Tuesday 1st March - I don't know why, but I quite enjoyed the polite formality of this sign outside the church in Chapel in Tregony. Inspired singing and good humour!

Day 283: Wednesday 2nd March - The most it has felt like summer so far. No wind and wall to wall sunshine (just ignore the crispness of the air and wear a coat...)

Day 284: Thursday 3rd March - I had a lesson on Pia and the light over the A30 on the way home was fantastic! I have a couple more pictures over on my flickr too...

That's it for now...I'll be back with more soon and some new things to show you too.

29 Project: Days 265 - 275

2011-02-25T13:43:00.000Z

This post marks the beginning of the countdown of the last 100 days of the 29 project (and of course my 20's). Yikes!

29 project: Days 265 - 275...

Day 265 (100 days to go!): Saturday 12th February - Pia Wins! This day was the day that Mark and I were actually meant to be moving all of our furniture to the new house...but I had entered a dressage show a while ago. So while Mark and our friends Simon and James lugged all the heavy furniture (thank you!), Pia and I went dancing and notched up two wins...huzzah! Good timing by me.

Day 266: Sunday 13th February - Big Horn. We took a little stroll down through our new village and these guys were hanging out in a field next to the path. The babas were pretty sweet. The mamas looked pretty ferocious.

Day 267: Monday 14th February - Valentines Scallops. A treat for me and my beau. Yum, is all I can say to that...

Day 268: Tuesday 15th February - Stormy Skies. You get to observe the elements at close quarters when you are hand grazing a horse in the middle of a field...

Day 269: Wednesday 16th February - The stoat and the Rabbit. Hand grazing Pia again I spied a little rabbit. I sidled closer and all of a sudden a stoat popped out of the hedge, I was so surprised but I managed to get this awful picture anyway and you can just about see it in the hedge there at the back. Horrified I though it was going to attack the rabbit right before my eyes (which they are known to do), but instead it rummaged around in the undergrowth and dragged an already deceased rabbit out into the open and then stuffed it back into another hole before scurrying away. Amazing nature scenes!

Day 270: Thursday 17th February - So yeah...it was bound to happen again sooner or later, but I didn't have my camera with me today and forgot to take a picture. Arg! Instead Here is a little sketch I made while playing with a fun online tool. It's great fun, have a go yourself HERE.
(I found this via the FABULOUS Gennine. If you haven't already, do check out her blog. It is really rather wonderful)

Day 271: Friday 18th February - Lorry Home. My mama and Pia and I headed off to Dorset where Pia and I were due to contest the regional dressage championships. We have a very cosy living in our horsebox and dined on a Chinese feast, Rosé and some lovely company.

Day 272: Saturday 19th February - Posh Plait. Little Pia getting dolled up for her test. Our friend Verity was on hand to give her this pretty plait. Unfortunately our dressage tests weren't so pretty!!! I went wrong (duh!) and Pia was a bit too over excited and I a bit too nervous, which a good dressage test does not make...Sunday's test was pretty much a disaster too with Pia behaving like a cat on a hot tin roof. A big disappointment after the success of last weekend, but that's horses and sport for you. Thank goodness for encouraging friends and good advice in the aftermath!

Day 273: Sunday 20th February - Broken Down. So after a weekend of dressage disaster we broke down on the way home. Ugh. Bodmin moor in the dark and the rain is not a friendly place, but the kindness of a passing friend in a horsebox meant we could get Pia home and cosy while the lorry was towed. What a fine way to top off our weekend of sporting disaster, eh?

Day 274: Monday 21st February - Back to normality and I was cheered to see that the daffodils are starting to bloom all over.

Day 275: Tuesday 22nd February - Settling in. Our new house is starting to look a little more lived in now and we have music downstairs thanks to Mark and his musical tech knowledge. Hurrah!

29 Project: Days 257 - 264

2011-02-22T18:46:00.001Z

Here it is! The first part of a BIG and long long LONG overdue 29 project update from the last couple of weeks.

My absence from posting will become evident soon enough...it involves horsin' around (lots of it) and moving house.

29 project: Days 257 - 264...

Day 257: Friday 4th February - Pot plants awaiting the move. I had another dressage lesson on this day and didn't get much time for more packing. So with only a week to go until the big move I decided to keep up a little bit of the packing momentum by moving all the plants into one place. Productive yeah?

Day 258: Saturday 5th February - KARE(A)OKE. We went out in Falmouth to celebrate our friend Tim's big 3 0 birthday and this sign made me laugh. Needless to say, this wasn't one of the establishments we chose to spend our evening in...

Day 259: Sunday 6th February - Packing chaos. ARG! Need I say more?

Day 260: Monday 7th February - Necklaces! Lots of 'em! Trying to figure out how to transport them without tangle mess and breakage.

Day 261: Tuesday 8th February - New Telephone. I treated Mark and I to a house warming gift for the new house. A pretty and bright red trim phone. Small things can make me happy.

Day 262: Wednesday 9th February - What's she seen?! My mama and I took Miss Pia down west for a dressage test riding and advice session with a dressage judge. She was quite excited about things going on outside the lorry...

Day 263: Thursday 10th February - Pia Grazing. Munch munch munch. She doesn't stop!

Day 264: Friday 11th February - MOVING IN!! Finally, the first day of the move came and Mark and I took all the little boxes (that I could lift) over to the new house. We sat on sofa cushions and ate fish n chips and drank beer. The furniture went in the following day...

I don't really want to end on a sad note but Friday the 11th was a day of mixed emotions. We also had to say goodbye to a very dear pony treasure indeed. After 20 years at our stables, little Carrianne had reached the ripe old age of 30 and ill health forced some sad decisions. She was a cheeky and naughty as she was cute and lovable and we all miss her dearly.

Goodbye Carrie Kins.

More tomorrow peeps...

Dogs and cats and dogs and cats

2011-02-22T17:54:00.000Z

So while I prepare a pretty hefty old 29 project update for you, I thought I would share this utterly bonkers animation that I came across on Twitter earlier today, which I enjoyed very much:

The lady who tweeted it is a very talented illustrator and animator called Julia Pott. If you have yet to be enchanted by her drawings, have a look see at her work. You won't be disappointed: http://www.juliapott.com

About time too...

2011-02-14T19:18:00.001Z

Happy valentines everyone!

In my usual round and about sort of way, I have finally gotten around to adding some of the paintings I have been making over the last couple of months (and before!) to the shop. Hurrah and hooray!

The three I added today are Loose Horse in the Valley, All the Kings Horses and A Visitor. As you can see, the update has a strong horse based theme! They are available in the originals section of the shop.

I have a HUGE 29 project update for you soon. I have been busy packing and moving house and horsing around doing dressage things with Pia, hence the quiet times here.

Our new house is lovely. It has a woodburner which I am sat in front of right now...Rad.

29 Project: Days 246 - 256

2011-02-04T12:28:00.001Z

The latest 29 project installment, things I have been doing and things that I have seen this last 10 days...

Days 246 - 256:

Day 246: Monday 24th January - Making me and You. I always like getting to the screen making part of the process when I am making new designs. It's the stage where the design stops being something on a computer screen and actually starts to come to life. Here are the negatives for the Me and You cards...

Day 247: Tuesday 25th January - Printing scarves. I spent nearly all of the day on Tuesday printing things and stocking up a bit and turquoise scarves were on the hit list.

Day 248: Wednesday 26th January - Studio threads. When I am preparing the fabric for the scarves there is always quite a lot of frayed thread. Not all of it ends up where it is meant to be and I appear to have trailed this little lot of colours behind me when I left the studio the night before!

Day 249: Thursday 27th January - Ideas. Most of my products start off as terrible little drawings such as these...I'm afraid my sketchbooks don't often have pages and pages of beautiful thought out sketches! I often have lots of ideas all at the same time and have the get them down quickly with scrappy handwriting and Biro scratches like this:

Day 250: Friday 28th January - New woods to paint on - They need a clean up and the old furniture information removing but these will be the bases for some larger paintings I want to make...I can't wait to make a start, but must sand and prepare them properly first (and get some other pressing things out of the way too...), soon though, soon!

Day 251: Saturday 29th January - Birds and glass. I briefly mentioned it a post or so ago, but Mark and I are moving next weekend. Not far, just to the next village, but packing has started in earnest!

Day 252: Sunday 30th January - Packed Horse - More packing I'm afraid...We did take a break from it on Saturday afternoon and night. The weekend wasn't all constant boxes and finding of things we had forgotten about, that's for sure. There was also some spa time with the ladies and a big chicken fajita dinner too...

Day 253: Monday 31st January - Little curled up cat. No sooner had I sat down, turned my computer on, little Lou Lou came over and curled up on my lap. I hadn't even taken my coat off! Hello Monday...

Day 254: Tuesday 1st February - Light on a leaf. The light was pretty spectacular this evening. Lots of pink and orange...

Day 255: Wednesday 2nd February - Me and You printing. They sold out! So I had lots more to print...Get yours HERE!

Day 256: Thursday 3rd February - Horse Lady. Here I am ready to go horsin' around for the afternoon. Pia and I will be contesting the regional dressage championships in two weeks time so we went off for a lesson. (I don't normally wear antlers when I go riding by the way...just so you know.)

Dreaming of Spring...

2011-02-01T17:46:00.001Z

Is it just me, or has this winter felt horribly long?

C'mon Spring...do your stuff!

Love me do

2011-01-31T13:28:00.000Z

The new Me and You cards have been flying out, thank you to everyone who has bought one! I just thought I'd give a little heads up that all of my cards now ship with FREE SHIPPING, (except when purchased with something else from the shop, then normal shipping applies)...nice eh?

Also (Listen up boys!) I have made a limited edition I Love You Postcard Necklace in time for Valentines. It has little rose quartz beads strung on the chain which is said to be a stone promoting love and self worth. See and shop this little cutie HERE!

I think that is all for today. I am busying away sorting things out for some new things to come and trying to squeeze in a little packing up of our belongings...Mark and I are moving house in eleven days time!

Me and You...

2011-01-26T17:17:00.001Z

Me and you, you and me. that's the way it's meant to be...

I have no idea where I heard the above sentence, or even if I made it up! But I like it and the phrases 'Me and You' and 'You and Me' are close to my heart anyway...

I added a new Valentines or general 'I like you lots' card to the shop today. It joins the other Lovebirds for 2011. See and shop HERE!

29 Project: Days 235 - 245

2011-01-23T21:54:00.001Z

Here it is! The latest 29 project update! I hope everyone has been having a sooopa weekend.

Days 235 - 245...

Day 235: Thursday 13th January - Love Cards for Lovers. Gearing up for Valentines and printing lots of cards for you loverrrs...

Day 236: Friday 14th January - Prototyping. I found a moment or two to have a play this week and have been busy experimenting and making prototypes. I am very excited for things I have yet to make!

Day 237: Saturday 15th January - Vic and the Pig. This is baby pointer Vic, our friends new pup. He was pretty fascinated by this oinking, ear wagging piggy money box (a joke present for James, who would quite like a pig...)

Day 238: Sunday 16th January - Drew a face. I've not drawn a face in a long time...Can you tell? Ha!

Day 239: Monday 17th January: Bleurgh, accounts. It's that time of year again. Tax time.

Day 240: Tuesday 18th January - Experimenting. Playing with beads and stuff...

Day 241: Wednesday 19th January - Daffodils are sprouting. I've noticed little shoots this last week or so. I am looking forward to the yellow blooms very much!

Day 242: Thursday 20th January - Good lunch. Mark and I tend to eat pretty healthily, but I have been trying to eat more raw veg and greens lately and every other day pile up the tomatoes, celery, watercress, little leaves of rocket and spinach, and avocado with some cooked beets and a dribble of balsamic for lunch. It's so good! I also have a bit of a love of ham on oatcakes topped with a bit of Mrs Bridges Ploughmans Chutney or Onion Marmalade. L U S H.

Day 243: Friday 21st January - Icy Icy. It's so much warmer now than it has been for most of the winter but still the ice hangs on in places...

Day 244: Saturday 22nd January - Love in the country. Our wedding got featured as a 'real wedding' in Wed Magazine! Yay!

Day 245: Sunday 23rd January - Taking the Ferry. We spent Saturday night with friends in Falmouth and took the King Harry Ferry home in the morning...beautiful day.

New tees for the gals...

2011-01-21T15:58:00.001Z

I have just added some new tees to the shop! Those of you who came to the BUST Craftacular last year will have seen these before...I can't believe it has taken me quite so long to get them in the shop! A combination of bad weather, dark nights and other stuff going on hampering any photo shoot efforts I suppose, but here they are...at last!

The designs are not new ones, but have been re-purposed into other wearables...I'd love to know what you think.

First up, the popular Pegasus has found another home on a cute scoop neck and cap sleeved asphalt grey cotton tee:

...and the cavorting equines from my Equus Scarves are now on this silky viscose tee as well. I really like these t-shirts, they look great tucked in and just as nice hanging loose. (Apologies for the picture quality in the first pic here, I think I'll have to get it re-taken. It looked ok on the back of the camera, gah!)

See and shop!

Cactus Bird...

2011-01-17T12:53:00.000Z

Detail:

We have some little birds perched on our Cactus pot...This guy is Gouache on paper and measures 21 x 21 cm.

I hope you all had a good weekend! I have a 29 project update to show you later...

Almost there...

2011-01-14T15:11:00.001Z

I mentioned before that I have been really enjoying spending some time getting reacquainted with my pencils and here is one of those drawings I have been talking about.

A little duo arriving home just as the sun has disappeared and the moon is on the rise...

Almost there. Pencil on paper. 21 x 21 cm

Detail:

I need to make more like this, I loved it!

29 Project: Days 226 - 234...

2011-01-14T10:54:00.002Z

Here it is, another long overdue 29 project update! I have been a little caught up with painting this week, so it is a bit work in progress heavy. There is more than enough pictures of drinks too, though we were celebrating some pretty momentous occasions...

Anyway, on with the 29 project: Days 226 - 234...

Day 226: Tuesday 4th January - New coat! This is pretty special: My lovely friend Ash, through various reasons had landed himself with a huge wad of vouchers for a womens clothes shop in Truro and rather than let them go to waste, he took a gaggle of ladies (myself included) shopping to spend them. I snaffled myself this rather lovely coat and he wouldn't take anything in return....he really is one of the most generous people I have ever met. He's also a really rather good photographer too, have a peek at his website (there's lots of pics from our wedding up there, ha!) Thank you Ash!!

Day 227: Wednesday 5th January - Loose Horse in progress. Look how he changed! This is the first version, with a different horse and a blue tree. My paintings often go through many changes before I am happy with them.

Day 228: Thursday 6th January - New Agates. Waiting to be photographed and sitting on a pretty Figgjo Flint Turi Design plate. I moved the chains so you can see the faces of the little peeps on there:

Day 229: Friday 7th January - Celebratory Drinks! Not the best picture here I'm afraid, but quite significant from this week all the same. Mark and I are moving in February and I can't wait! We are only moving to the next village along, but we will be living in a beautiful cottage that is much bigger than our current abode. Where we live now is very lovely, with sea views and coastal walks, but our little home is getting a bit small for us and it is time to move on. So in four weeks time, we are!

Day 230: Saturday 8th January - Goodbye Chez Avondale. We aren't the only ones moving either. Our good friends Simon and Lucy are moving from Truro to Falmouth and this was the last evening we would spend there all together...

Day 231: Sunday 9th January - Homemade Houmous. So after all that drinking I was feeling a bit bad for my body! I tried to redress the balance with some homemade houmous goodness and lots of raw vegetables...It was probably too little too late, but it tasted darn good.

Day 232: Monday 10th January - New paintings. Amidst all of the house finding excitement I managed to finish two paintings, hurrah! You have seen them already in my last two posts, but here they are sat on the sofa waiting to be scanned...

Day 233: Tuesday 11th January - Pencil bird. As well as painting, I have been enjoying doing some pencil drawings lately...here is one of them perched on the wall...(not the best picture I'm afraid, but I will have a scan of him soon...)

Day 234: Wednesday 12th January - Another finished painting. This little chap was finished this week too and again, I will post a better picture soon!

Loose Horse in the Valley.

2011-01-12T19:57:00.001Z

Here is another painting I have been working on of late.

It is inspired by lyrics in Sam Amidon's track 'I See the Sign', namely: Loose horse in the valley and Tell me, who's going to ride him?. I love the imagery they conjure and I doubt I am finished with them yet...

'Loose Horse in the Valley' is gouache on wood and measures 38 x 14 cm.

Detail:

Thank you for the lovely comments about 'A Visitor', I am so pleased you like him!!

A Visitor

2011-01-11T21:22:00.000Z

I have been painting and drawing quite a lot lately and have some new work to show you!

First up is 'A Visitor'. I actually started this guy a while ago but he was put on the back burner while the Christmas madness took hold...it has been nice to get him out and finish him up! The painting depicts a little steed coming across a tent in the woods. I wonder who is inside?

'A Visitor' - Gouache on wood. 29.5 x 19 cm...

Detail:

I will have a 29 project update and more pictures to show you soon...

Agates!

2011-01-06T23:12:00.003Z

Hurrah and hooray! I have added a handful more of the very popular Agate Necklaces to the shop for 2011!

They are all rather lovely, sea-like, blue beauties and each is one of a kind. See and shop them in the jewels section of the shop.

I love the size and colours of these necklaces...they are super for dressing up simple tees and cozy jumpers. I hope you like them!

29 Project: Days 219 - 225

2011-01-05T14:26:00.000Z

I hope everyone had a great fun time at new years and saw in 2011 happily.

Did you notice that Bonbi Fruits had a little make over during the Christmas break? I added some big buttons to my other places on the web on the right over there --> and some 'Like' and 'Tweet' buttons to each post. It was long over due really!

I also took part in a fun interview for the Great Dames blog last week. They have started 2011 interviewing one 'Great Dame' a day and I think it will be a lovely inspiring blog about ladies doing interesting things. Go take a look!

Tomorrow I have some new Agates going into the shop among other things so keep your eyes peeled for those...for now: On with the 29 project - Days 219 - 255...

Day 219: Tuesday 28th December - Reading. After catching up on a few little bits of work I spent the early evening hanging out on the sofa with one of my new books. This tome by Marion Bantjes needs a whole post to itself, so when I have finished poring over it's splendidly patterned pages you will be sure to see more of it here...

Day 220: Wednesday 29th December - Scribbling. The last few weeks in the run up to Christmas were such a blur of festive order packing and staying on top of all things Bonbi Forest, I hardly got a chance to sit down with my beloved pencils and paints, so I spent a couple of days getting re-acquainted with them and my ideas...Here is a close up of some pencil scribbles in my sketchbook...

Day 221: Thursday 30th December - Scribbling with paints....and here are some painterly scribbles!

Day 222: Friday 31st December - New Years Eve! After feasting on delicious things, my friends and I headed outside to wave sparklers about sing a very ropey version of Auld Lang Syne at the stroke of midnight. It was much fun indeed!

Day 223: Saturday 1st January 2011 - New Years Day. Every year Mark and I head down to the local to fend off our hangovers with a few shandys and catch up with family and whoever else happens to be around. It's always such a good atmosphere, I do love new years day a lot.

Day 224: Sunday 2nd January - Wii! My mama got bought a Wii for Christmas and on Sunday Mark and I headed over to my folks place to have an afternoon and evening being silly on the Wii with the lovely company of my family and Mark's mama and her partner. I am pretty average at most of the games, it has to be said...

Day 225: Monday 3rd January - Walks. A friend of ours got given a guide to walks in Cornwall for Christmas, so a bunch of us set off on what was meant to be a 3.6 mile 'moderate' jaunt along the cliffs near the village where Mark and I live. I don't know if it was the recent rain and floods washing away parts of the coast path and making them slippery, but there was a unanimous decision that this was more like a hard and perilous hike! It was fun though and the crisp winter breeze blew the last of the Christmas cobwebs away...

Happy New Year!!

2010-12-31T17:52:00.002Z

Happy New Year everyone! Wishing you all a happy and prosperous 2011. I will be back in a couple of days with a 29 project update and other bits and pieces.

^ New Year Cat ^

Turn of the Year Sale!

2010-12-28T15:15:00.001Z

2011 is nigh upon us and here's a little treat for you to say thank you for your continued support in 2010 --> 20% off any order over £15 using the code HELLO2011!

Visit the shop!

Also, with all of the pre-Christmas hoo-ha I forgot to mention this online radio show I was interviewed for! It is a 3 part program for BBC Blast about using your creative talent to make a living, and contains audio snippets from me and other creative and business types. Have a listen HERE!

It's strange hearing my own voice!

29 Project: Days 212 - 217

2010-12-28T12:23:00.000Z

I hope everyone had a super Christmas with lots of festive cheer and time well spent with family and friends? Ours was very nice and I was thoroughly spoiled with beautiful books, pretty things for our home, soft things to wear, vouchers to spend and a pair of posh thermal breeches to keep me warm when I am riding...and lots and lots and lots of chocs and sweets!

I have a 29 project from the last week here to show you now, and check back later for a little end of year treat I have lined up for you!

29 project: Days 212 - 217...

Day 212: Tuesday 21st December - Rosette Decorations. My mum likes to make use of Pia pony's winning red ribbons by hanging them up with her Christmas garlands every year!

Day 213: Wednesday 22nd December - Lights in Truro. A bunch of us went for a festive pizza dinner followed by some late night shopping, which went swimmingly, with even the hardest people to buy for sorted. Ace!

Day 214: Thursday 23rd December - Pressies. Gifts under the tree...ever so exciting! Present wrapping was followed by a Christmas eve's eve night out which was much fun indeed...

Day 215: Friday 24th December - Nativity. A little scene outside the chapel in our village. Mark and I were headed to the pub where we didn't do very well in the Christmas music quiz, but instead won some rosé and Fererro Rocher's in the raffle.

Day 216: Saturday 25th December - C H R I S T M A S!!! (Can you tell yet how much I like Christmas?) In the morning we drove up to North Cornwall to see Mark's dad and go for a little beachside drink and then headed back to my folks for the afternoon for more gift giving, eating and game playing. Awesome. Here is my brother, his lady and my dad watching a miniature helicopter flying about the room:

Day 217: Sunday 26th December - Boxing Day Feast! Boxing day was another lazy day spent visiting Mark's mama, where we munched a lovely spread of cold meats, home made mince pies and cheeses. In the evening we went to see friends in Falmouth for another hearty feast and general merriment until the wee hours...a brilliant way to end the weekend.

Day 218: Monday 27th December - New Vase. Home again and here is the AMAZING new vase Mark bought me! It's a Rob Ryan design and I love it so much, we had to stop off on the way home from Falmouth and buy some flowers just so I could make use of it immediately!

29 Project: Days 200 - 211

2010-12-21T23:21:00.002Z

Ahhh! Today was the last Christmas post day and now I feel like I can start winding down for Christmas. It's been a crazy season, thank you all who have supported Bonbi Forest this last month or so (indeed, this last year!), you have run me ragged and made me a very happy lady. THANK YOU!!

I have a few things to show you next week and a heads up to look out for too...but before all that: On with the 29 project, days 200 - 211...

Day 200: Thursday 9th December - Where the cat has been. This must have made for some cold paws!

Day 201: Friday 10th December - New things I will be playing with soon! The mirrors that is...I have been waiting to crack on with this little project for MONTHS! January is looking exciting to me, wait and see...(remember that little bird?)

Day 202: Saturday 11th December - How to recycle a fridge: Use it as a store cupboard for bicycle paraphernalia like Mark does. Handy.

Day 203: Sunday 12th December - A day off for Christmas Tree shopping! How exciting is this? A field full of little trees ready to be chopped, decorated and admired. We followed this by a roast with friends and then watched, like the reality TV fans we pretend we are not, the X-Factor final. A very enjoyable way to spend a Sunday.

Day 204: Monday 13th December - We decorated the tree! I love this time of year.

Day 205: Tuesday 14th December - Scarf tags. I am very happy with these:

Day 206: Wednesday 15th December - Ugh! A little corner of the studio chaos...when all the packing is done and the tees and jewels re-stocked I may find time to clear some of this chaos away! The rest of the studio is mainly piles of tees and far, far, far too many cardboard boxes for a room this size...

Day 207: Thursday 16th December - Bjorn Wiinblad plaques! After seeing a friend's completed collection earlier in the year I have really wanted to start my own...They are a lovely set of twelve (more about which I will have to create a whole new post for!) and these are my first two. I have more on the way and I can't wait, L O V E them!

Day 208: Friday 17th December - A rare kind of beauty. This stunner is the angel that perches atop my folk's Christmas tree every year. I think she may be older than me. Check out her stylish stapled dress and her coquettishly angled halo!

Day 209: Saturday 18th December - This last weekend Mark and I took lots of Bonbi goodies down to the Jubilee Wharf Christmas fair in Penryn for two days. It's always a fun fair and it's really nice to go back and catch up with some old faces and see some of my favorite customers who come back year on year. Here I am showing you my best pulling in the punters face:

Day 210: Sunday 19th December - Jewels at the fair. I always like how they look all hanging together...

Day 211: Monday 20th December - Good colours. Back to packing the last few orders and I liked how these unfolded jewellery pouches looked lined up like this. Pretty.

I think that's enough for now...I will be back with more and a few peeks of the things you can expect in the shop soon. I hope everyone has a good few days finishing off the last of their shopping and wrapping and general festive preparations!

Look what has galloped in to the shop, just in time for Christmas!

2010-12-13T12:09:00.002Z

Here they are and available to buy --> Equus scarves!

They come in two colours, turquoise and fuchsia and feature a whole herd of little horses and zebras cavorting around in a field of graphic blooms and leaves...you can see and shop them in the accessories section of the shop.

I'd love to know what you make of them?!

I hope everyone had a great weekend...Mark and I had a fun one which included hunting for our Christmas tree in a field of other Christmas trees. I am very much looking forward to putting it up this evening, yay!

29 Project: Days 188 - 199

2010-12-10T12:23:00.000Z

...and here's the rest of the last couple of weeks 29 project update, which is a feast of more of my hit and miss photography and things that have been going on around here, ha!

I know I mentioned it a while ago now, but really, I WILL be putting the new scarves in the shop this weekend for last minute pressies, so please stay tuned for that...As well as sorting them out I will be doing some more painting, seeing friends and going to get a Christmas tree, which is always a delight. I hope everyone has a super weekend!

On with the 29 project: Days 188 - 199...

Day 188: Saturday 27th November - Leaving a snow dusted Truro. Enroute to London for the BUST Magazine Craftacular. At this point there was only snow in the North and Scotland and bizarrely (seeing as we are always the last to get snow, if ever...) in Cornwall!

Day 189: Sunday 28th November - BUST! Here is a not great picture of the stall which by this late point in the day was looking somewhat mauled and sparse. The Craftacular was great and so, so busy! I had lots of long-time-no-see friends come along to say hello and met so many friendly faces. It was tiring but much fun indeed. Mark and I and our friend Natasha were also given the wonderful hospitality of the lovely Zosienka for two nights as well whose work and sweet blog you should check out, it's pretty ace indeed.

Day 190: Monday 29th November - Home again to a snowy Truro. Again I was amazed that there weren't any snow sightings for the entire journey until we arrived back in Truro! (I understand this was a situation that changed over the next 24 hours however) I was glad we borrowed my folks big car, I don't think our little Punto would have been too happy reversing up this icy slope at all.

Day 191: Tuesday 30th November - Busy Packing. Well while I was away it seems you guys started your Christmas shopping in earnest and the packing marathon (that continues still, and which I am so grateful for, thank you!) began good and proper...

Day 192: Wednesday 1st December - During a little tee photo shoot I moved a chair and found that the floor was multi-coloured with stray scarf threads from my sewing and hemming the other evening...

Day 193: Thursday 2nd December - Furry pony ears! Jenna and I were marveling at how furry little Carries ears get in her old age. They look pretty cozy to me...

Day 194: Friday 3rd Deember - Pub Quiz. I always enjoy our local pub's Pub Quiz. It alternates between music week and general knowledge week. I think this week we had the grand total of 25 out of 60. Pretty poor form!

Day 195: Saturday 4th December - Cliff. Or Clifford or Mr Wifford, or Wiffy. Showing off some quality in front of the fire sleeping in his own special way:

Day 196: Sunday 5th December - The first of the pressies! Wrapped in time to go in the mail for our Aussie family who are Mark's brother Ian, his lady wife Natalie and their bambino, Morwenna...

Day 197: Monday 6th December - After a day of packing lots of lovely orders I sat down to some quiet time sketching in the evening. Ahhhh.

Day 198: Tuesday 7th December - Icy Icy. Beautiful frost on frost at the place where I went for a lesson on Miss Pia. they live in a valley there where the sun comes around late in the day and too weak to melt the frost from the night before. This was so pretty!

Day 199: Wednesday 8th December - New fringe! After only starting to grow it out a year ago, and then pondering it for weeks I took the plunge and reinstated my fringe. Goodbye boring hair and hello instant style for a wash n go girl like me. Yay!

29 Project: Days 181 - 187

2010-12-05T15:39:00.002Z

At last! The first part of a VERY long 29 project update for you...I think this must be the longest it has been for me not to have updated, but you guys have been keeping me very busy with Christmas orders (thank you!!!) and the like, and before I realised a very long time had passed.

So here we go part one now and part two in a day or so: 29 project: Days 181 - 187...

Day 181: Friday 19th November - Drawing with pencils again! I haven't drawn with just pencils for a long time and had a really strong urge to do just that and so a couple of pencil drawings I made. I kind of like them but need to do more refining before I let them loose on here...

Day 182: Saturday 20th November - Flood damage in Portloe. Our little village was quite hard hit by the storms this week and the harbour suffered a lot. Water came rushing down the hills on either side, tearing up the road, washing a car into the sea, leaving a fishing boat wrecked and filling the hotel with 3 feet of muddy water...Luckily no one was hurt but homes were ruined and possessions lost. Weather is a powerful beast sometimes!

^ This is also the halfway point of the 29 project...Goodness, that means I have only 6 months until I embark on a new decade. I'm not sure if I'm very happy about that at all. Eeek!

Day 183: Sunday 21st November - Bonfire! I liked the smoke amongst the winter trees...

Day 184: Monday 22nd November - Charlotte's Tea House. My friend Helen was visiting from London and I dragged her around town to go fabric shopping. We stopped off for a bite to eat at Charlotte's Tea House in Truro which is always a delight.

Day 185: Tuesday 23rd November - Pretty light. The combination of leaves and low light at this slightly grubby window where I wash my screens and squeegees is always a pleasing view and this evening was no exception!

Day 186: Wednesday 24th November - Making screens for the scarves which I showed you a peek at here. I hope to have time to get them in the shop this week in time for Christmas gift giving.

Day 187: Thursday 25th November - Hard ice. First came floods and then came the ice. Brrr!

Day 188: Friday 26th November - Sewing and hemming and getting the scarves ready for the BUST Craftacular...

Well that is it for now...I will post this week just gone in a couple of days!

I am quite excited about...

2010-11-26T20:24:00.001Z

....new scarves! If you are coming to the Craftacular on Sunday then you will be the first to see them in person. They'll be available in the shop next week:

BUST!

2010-11-26T12:50:00.001Z

I should have posted this a little earlier in the week but time seems to be running away with me somewhat at the moment...

This weekend I am packing some bags full of Bonbi goodies and heading to the big smoke of London to set up shop at the BUST Magazine Christmas Craftacular, which I am very excited about. We had a great time at the summer one and I am anticipating a good fun weekend!

The Craftacular is at the York Hall in Bethnal Green (a short hop, skip and jump from the tube station!) and there will be 70 stalls selling the wares of independent designers and makers from across the country along with crafty workshops, a bar, dj's and dancing...if you are in the area do come along, it's only £2 to get in and the first 100 through the door get a free goodie bag too!

If you do come along, come and say hello to me and Mark -->

I will have a 29 project update soon for you...it may be before I go or it may be when I get back. So much for my resolve to keep on top of it on a more regular basis eh? Anyway, either way I have lots to show you!

29 Project: Days 177 - 180

2010-11-19T20:09:00.000Z

The forthcoming weekend is going to be quite busy for me I think, there will be some printing with friends, curry eating, horse duties amongst other things, and I have some new drawings swimming around in my head that I want to get down. I hope to be able to show some peeks next week...I hope everyone has a great weekend!

In the meantime, here is the latest installment of the 29 project: Days 177 - 180.

Day 177: Monday 15th November - New jewellery. I made up some batches of these today, they are detailed in my last blog post and are now available in the shop!

Day 178: Tuesday 16th November - Riding. I have got Miss Pia to look after for the next couple of weeks. We are training hard for a competition at the beginning of December and she is also learning new things - flying changes & half pass for those in the know. It's very exciting.

Day 179: Wednesday 17th November - Parade of Lights. It's not the best picture (from my phone I'm afraid) but on Wednesday evening we went to Truro's parade of lights. It had a dragon theme and there were some impressive entries! Thankfully, since it was so cold Mark and I and some friends managed to book a table at Pizza Express that was timed nicely with the parade and watched the whole thing from the warmth of the restaurant. Win indeed!

Day 180: Thursday 18th November - I returned home from a long day to find this beautiful Rob Ryan exhibition card in the post box. My friend Laura had been to the show and nabbed one for me. She is very lovely.

New jewels...

2010-11-18T18:08:00.000Z

There are new jewels in the shop, fanfare!

The first is a pretty pendant necklace based on the very popular Agate Necklaces which have all sold out. (I am trying to source some more Agates before Christmas - Stay tuned!). I found these fabulous Ametrine rough faceted slabs which are really so pretty and gave them the same vintage brass square treatment as the Agates. Nice and simple. You can see and shop these HERE.

My Fly High Bracelets also now come in two more colours: Blue Opal and Jet. I hope you like them...see them in the Jewels section of the shop...

In other news, you will be able to listen to me waffle on about how I started Bonbi Forest and other things in a radio interview soon...I shall let you know when and where, when I know.

Long time no squeak! 29 project: Days 167 - 176

2010-11-15T21:50:00.002Z

I have a BIG 29 project update here and apologies for the not so great quality of some of the photos...My photography is always a bit hit and miss!

It's been a busy week, what with dressage lessons on Pia, a competition, lots of printing and making and getting things stocked up for Christmas, and other familial things going on, which was ended with a fun weekend in a big house with lots of friends on a cliff top near the most southerly point in the UK. Phew!

Anyway, here you go: 29 project - Days 167 - 176...

Day 167: Friday 5th November - Sorry, it's not fireworks, I missed out on that this year. Sob! But I did get to ride Pia instead which is always fun. We had a late afternoon lesson and by the time I got home it was too late for fireworks...here she is with my mama waiting for me to let them out of the lorry...

Day 168: Saturday 6th November - Sunset over the A30. I had another lesson and the sunset on the way home was pretty spectacular. Have I mentioned that I do love the light at this time of year? (Ha, many times, I know!)

Day 169: Sunday 7th November - Reviewing the lessons. I like to have any lessons I have videoed so that I can look over them again and refresh my mind with what I have learned...also to watch and see that what I am feeling from on top is right with what it looks like from the ground. Pia is learning new things at the moment so it's all very exciting!

Day 170: Monday 8th November - Printing printing lots of Triangle Dogs today and making lots of Autumn bracelets too.

Day 171: Tuesday 9th November - Spicy noodle soup! It's an awful picture, sorry, but my first attempt at noodle soup was a flavoursome (and really, really spicy) success! Yay.

Day 172: Wednesday 10th November - Smiling Kizzie. Mark and I went around to his mama's house to make her some food...this is her poocher, Kizzie giving us a grin.

Day 173: Thursday 11th November - Wrapped paintings. Off to a new home this week...

Day 174: Friday 12th November - Off for the weekend! The house my friends and I stayed in for the weekend was super. It is perched on the cliff overlooking Kennack Sands down near The Lizard in West Cornwall and it was really lovely. All wood paneled walls, wood burners and sea views. Here's a (not great again!) pic of us settling in for an evening by the fire...

Day 175: Saturday 13th November - We took a walk to blow away the cobwebs...there was streams to cross, lots of mud, and ponies by the beach. The rest of the day was spent with beer, knitting, crochet, magazines, curry and early hours fireworks. Ace.

Day 176: Sunday 14th November - Sunday seaside sun. The sun came out at last and the view was beautiful!

There are more pics of printing and walking over at my Flickr too.

Also, just a little heads up: Brass Autumn Bracelets are now back in stock and I also added a few new Agate Necklaces to the shop on Friday. You can see and shop them here: JEWELS!

29 Project: Days 160 - 166

2010-11-05T11:41:00.001Z

These latest 29 project pics were meant to get to you in two separate posts, but alas time ran away with me and so now you have them all in one go. Lucky you!

Before I start, don't forget the Grand Autumn Sale I have running in the shop at the moment: 20% off all orders over £10 until midnight GMT on Sunday, just enter the code AUTUMN at checkout, easy!

29 project: Days 160 - 166...

Day 160: Friday 29th October - Friday night silliness. My cousin Chloe and her boy Justin made dinner for Mark and I, my brother, his lady and our friend Stan, and whilst out shopping for it decided she would quite like some Neopolitan ice cream for afters. Unable to find any she bought us these wafers with a Neopolitan filling. The wafers were horribly soft, the ice cream was tasty and of course we built a tower from them. It wasn't meant to look quite so, er...like it does...

Day 161: Saturday 30th October - New ride! After our little smash the other week mark and I were very generously given a car by a friend of his mum's...how nice and amazing is that?! Mark went to pick it up and now we are back to zooming about at our own whim and fancy and not having to borrow cars or beg for lifts.

Day 162: Sunday 31st October - Halloween! We didn't have a pumpkin this year but went around to our friends house (whose little girl's 2nd birthday it was) and encountered this scary looking creation instead...The little birthday girl looked at it and said 'Happy birthd...?' rather more unsure than pleased with it's arrival in her kitchen!

Day 163: Monday 1st November - A peek at new work. I didn't take a photograph today! I forgot!! But instead I have a screen shot of a new design I have been working on. More horses and equine friends. All shall be revealed soon.

Day 164: Tuesday 2nd November - Hiders all wrapped. I have mentioned it before but when I sell an original piece of work, I like to send them off all wrapped in some protective hand printed fabric and wrapped up like a treat. I printed up this piece in navy and white and my Hiders drawing was sent off to it's new home looking like this:

Day 165: Wednesday 3rd November - New stones! The pretty agate necklaces I added to the shop last week sold out in a flash! The good news is that if you missed out last time I received a delivery of new beauties and will have them in the shop next week, hurrah! Look at the other gorgeousness too, I have plans afoot for those guys...

Day 166: Thursday 4th November - Fresh business cards and a very lovely garden sunset. I have two pictures of today because I just couldn't pick! I hand printed a fresh batch of business cards. I love all their colours when they are together...and the second picture was taken while I was prowling around the garden in the last of the sunlight taking pictures for new work. So pretty.

I hope everyone has a good weekend and enjoy the fireworks tonight!

Grand Autumn Sale

2010-11-02T13:06:00.002Z

Hello everyone, I hope you had a good weekend? Today is proving to be a bit of a busy one, I hope to have a 29 project update for you later, but it may have to wait until tomorrow, we shall see...

In the meantime with Autumn well underway, it is high time there was a little treat from me to you and here it is: The Grand Autumn Sale!!

You can receive 20% off any order over £10 if you wish, by entering the code AUTUMN at checkout until Midnight on Sunday 7th November...Sounds about right to me for gathering a few early bird Christmas stocking fillers and pressies!

~~P.S, there is only ONE of the Agate Necklaces that I added to the site last week left!~~ **EDIT: All sold out now!** I hope to have more before Christmas, but I'm not entirely sure when that will be...

29 Project: Days 157 - 159

2010-10-29T16:10:00.002Z

Goodness, it's been a busy week! I've done lots of printing for Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip (who are fast running out of the tees I created for them on tour!) and adding new jewellery to the shop as well.

The agate necklaces I showed you a short while ago are now in the shop...they are each one of a kind and so, so pretty. There are only five of them at the moment, you can see and shop them HERE!

There is another new necklace in the shop too called 'Collection' and I have also created a new bracelet called 'November' as it has a Citrine stone which is the birthstone of November...I think it would make an ace present for November born ladies! As well as the gorgeous golden Citrine it has two vintage brass beads and three little feathers...See both of these pretty pieces in the jewels section of the Bonbi Forest shop too...

Right, on with the 29 project: Days 157 - 159...

Day 157: Tuesday 26th October - Autumn Light. I know a lot of people like Autumn, for it's crispness and the cuddles of cozy knits, but being a bean who feels the cold somewhat more than most, Spring and the promises of warm sunshine it brings with it is my favorite time of year...however no other time of year quite beats Autumn for the quality of the light at either end of the day. I do love that.

Day 158: Wednesday 27th October - Lou Lou again. Being cheeky in the garden...I think that like me, she was marvelling at the colour of those leaves!

Day 159: Thursday 28th October - Fabric testing. I have a new fabric that I have never printed on before so I whipped out some of my pattern screens and printed a little test strip and the result was perfect...

More on Monday folks, have a great weekend!

29 Project: Days 152 - 156

2010-10-25T18:21:00.003Z

As promised earlier here are the weekend's 29 project updates! I put a few extra pictures of boats and dramatic morning vistas over at my Flickr page too...

29 project: Days 152 - 156...

Day 152: Thursday 21st October - Reindeer vs Horse Stand Off. Sketching and sticking etc...

Day 153: Friday 22nd October - Room with a view. It was Mark's birthday this last weekend and on Friday we were out in Falmouth seeing friends. We were lucky beans indeed and had a night in the Greenbank Hotel courtesy of Mark's papa...this is the view from our room:

Day 154: Saturday 23rd October - A present bundle for my beau on his birthday. I hand printed some wrapping paper and tied it up all pretty which was much fun to do! We had a great day seeing family for lunch and then on to our friend's house where we had a homemade Indian feast and Tuscan Mules...

Day 155: Sunday 24th October - (not a great picture, sorry!) Theatre Royal. Another birthday weekend surprise for Mark was organised by our friend Rob who bought him a ticket to see Stewart Lee in Plymouth! So a gang of us went to the Theatre Royal, which was much smaller than I remembered. Last time I went was to see The Nutcracker ballet with my dad when I was about 8 and it seemed like the biggest theatre I could ever have imagined...

Day 156: Today, Monday 25th October - C H R I S T M A S C A R D S!! I have been itching to get these in the shop, and today I finished 'em up, hurrah! They are now available as a set of 6 HERE!

Frames and agates...

2010-10-25T12:25:00.001Z

I hope everyone had a good weekend? We had a lovely one...it was Mark's 30th birthday so we spent it flitting about seeing family and friends which was sooopa fun! I have a 29 project update lined up for later today which features the weekend's frolics, and also a peek at new Christmas cards. I meant to release these last week, but due to a printer/card argument I had to put that back a little bit, but ready they now are!

In the meantime I have finally gotten around to framing my original Pegasus and Hiders drawings and they are now available in the shop. Both of these drawings have little white on white details which don't come across on any of the other goodies I have for sale of these guys as it's so subtle...so these two are a bit special!

Hiders:

Pegasus:

I also have a limited batch of fabulous new agate necklaces coming to the shop soon too which will be followed by a new jewels update later this week...

I LOVE these.

29 Project: Days 149 - 151

2010-10-20T15:49:00.001Z

Well, today has been a bit eventful...Mark and I had a little smash in the car, nothing serious but the car appears to be a write off. We are both fine and it is more of an inconvenience than anything. Buses in this area are few and far between (just 4 of them a day!) so I will be seeking lifts and borrowing rides to the studio and post office until we can sort ourselves out.

Oh well, I did say I wanted a new car, I just didn't think the old one would have to be wrecked to get one! Be careful what you wish for folks...

In better news I have sourced something I have been waiting an age to find at a decent price for an exciting upcoming project, hurrah!

Anyway, here are the latest 29 project pictures: Days 149 - 150...

Day 149: Monday 18th October - Leaves I like. This is why these kinds of leaves are in my head and in my work so often. They are subliminally force fed to me every Autumn when I walk down the path to the stables! I don't even know what they are!

Day 150: Tuesday 19th October - Leopard Cat. Tiger Cat. Sketching for stuff.

Day 151: Wednesday 20th October - Double Rainbow. I took this right before our smash (I wasn't driving by the way!). I think it was the rainbows fault, or maybe me squealing about how pretty it was...

Twilight Ride...

2010-10-19T11:01:00.002Z

Here is a little peek at something new I am working on whenever I have a spare moment or two...that is alongside the other projects I have on the go at the moment as well. Ideas are flowing fast at the right now and I am trying to make the most of them! Yay.

Twilight Ride: Digital Collage...

29 Project: Days 143 - 148

2010-10-18T14:15:00.000Z

I have met up with a few people recently who I haven't seen in a while and they have asked me what I have been up to of late. As usual my mind has drawn a blank and I say 'Oh you know, working, riding a bit...oh yeah, I sold Lauder'. So I had a look back on my 29 project (and all of the other pictures I have stored in my Iphoto along the way...) and realised there are lots of things there that I would never have thought to have taken a picture of before I was doing this, and little details I would have long since forgotten. I'm enjoying this project very much.

29 project: Days 143 - 148...

Day 143: Tuesday 12th October - Winners! I rode my best and Pia danced her best and we won not one, but two dressage classes today on very good scores indeed...regional championships here we come!

Day 144: Wednesday 13th October - Photography Corner...You may (or may not have!) noticed that I have gradually been re-photographing lots of things in the shop. This little corner of my studio is where I make the picture magic happen...

Day 145: Thursday 14th October - Screen Making. I had lots of little bits of work and jobs to get done today...It's not the most interesting or pretty picture I'm afraid, but re-making this screen was one of them!

Day 146: Friday 15th October - The Railway. Mark and I were up in Devon this last weekend visiting his dad. On Friday night we went to a lovely pub called The Railway Inn which is always a delight.

Day 147: Saturday 16th October - Exeter Cathedral. A trip into Exeter for the afternoon. I spent lots of money on warm winter wearables!

Day 148: Sunday 17th October - Horsebox Roast. Back in Cornwall again and we went round to my folks house for a dinner of roast lamb. The aga had stopped working though and my mum had to make a roast for six people in the tiny oven in the horsebox! I don't know how she did it, it was delicious...

As usual there are a few more pictures over at my Flickr...I hope to have some new bits and pieces to show you this week. Stay tuned!
Day

The good horse Black Beauty

2010-10-18T12:08:00.000Z

He's been around for a while, but I have finally got my original drawing of Black Beauty framed up all pretty and available to buy in the shop...

I will be updating the 29 project later today...I thought I might be able to keep on top of it and post a little more regularly but it has been a busy week and well, I failed at that! Hopefully from now on...yeah.

The product of a print marathon...

2010-10-12T19:26:00.001Z

Here are the tee designs I have been waiting to show you...I designed and hand printed them for my long time clients Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip for their upcoming Autumn tour. It shows all of the places they are visiting with a couple of little Le Sac vs Pip birds chirping at each other.

I made one colour combo for the girls, one for the guys and then another for kids. I've not made kids tees before and it was really fun to do! The design needed to be shrunken down to fit their little size and I was a bit worried about the finer details of the print coming through, but they did and I am SO pleased with them. Yay!

I also made a completely different design for some Le Sac vs Pip babygrows which I have yet to get a good picture of, but as soon as I do you will be able to peruse it over at my Flickr account...

In other news, my Bonbi Forest goodies are now available over on notonthehighstreet.com which is a super online store with loads of really lovely gifts and things.

That's it for now, but I wanted to leave you with a little link to an AMAZING photograph I found on the Folk Object Tumblr (I think you will like)...There's lots to like about a massive deer!

29 Project: Days 139 - 142

2010-10-11T21:12:00.001Z

I hope everyone had a good weekend? Here is the latest installment of the 29 project...

Days 139 - 142:

Day 139: Friday 8th October - Autumn. It's properly here isn't it? High winds have been stripping the trees of their leaves in a big way and carpeting the ground with them...

Day 140: Saturday 9th October - On Saturday night we headed down to Miss Peapods in Penryn to see some old friends play the last leg of their mini tour with their bands Trelawney, Bravo Brave Bats and Tessellators. Mark played some records too, it was much fun!

Day 141: Sunday 10th October - Walk home...Sunday rambles on the cliffs are becoming a regular occurrence, and this Sunday we rambled a little cliff top circuit all the way to the pub. It was dark when we left...Really, very dark.

Day 142: Monday 11th October - Christmas is a coming...(I know, already!) and today I have been creating some festive critters...

I have those tee designs from last weeks printing marathon to show you tomorrow...stay tuned!

Hello October...29 Project: Days 132 - 138

2010-10-08T14:58:00.001Z

I have been a busy bee this week printing a brand new batch of tour tees for Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip who are heading off around the country next week playing their music...I created two brand new designs for them, one for a tee and the other for a little babygrow which was very nice to do.

I will show you the new designs in due course (they have come out very well indeed!) but since they won't be arriving with their musical pals til Monday I'm going to hold off until then so they can have the first look...

In the meantime, here are the outstanding 29 project pics from the beginning of October. I am going to try and be more up to date with this from now on...!

29 Project: Days 132 - 138...

Day 132: Friday October 1st - New things! A happy order of new and very pretty things arrived which pleased and cheered me up greatly. Especially since they were all complete bargains, hurrah!

Day 133: Saturday October 2nd - Stormy Skies. Headed into Truro at twilight saw the sky come over all yellow and stormy. It was very beautiful...

Day 134: Sunday October 3rd - Looking. (There are more pictures for this day over at my Flickr too...) Mark and I took a walk along the cliff path. The sea was being very strange, from a distance it looked quite calm, but big swell was rumbling under the surface and causing lots of crashing waves and foam at the bottom of the cliffs. Here is me, mesmerised by the water:

Day 135: Monday October 4th - Lou Lou. Need I say more? She is the usual distraction for me!

Day 136: Tuesday October 5th - Pile O Tees. Here they are, the blanks for the printing project I have been working on this week...hundreds of them...

Day 137: Wednesday October 6th - Pia and the Beasties. A little horsey (and beastie) fix in the middle of the printing mayhem! I have been riding her this week in preparation for a competition next week.

Day 138: Thursday October 7th - The print marathon is over! Two and a half days and 600+ prints, many hours of heat setting, lots of rolling and sticking later, here we are at the end. 300 T-shirts and babygrows are ready for the off!

I hope everyone has a great weekend...I will be showing you new work on Monday, yay!

29 project: Days 122 - 131

2010-10-04T19:33:00.001Z

It's been a funny week...I have known for a little while but didn't want to say until the cheque went in and everything was final - I have sold my beloved Lauder horse. I have been meaning to sell him for the best part of six years (yes, really!) and have only sporadically, half heartedly advertised him from time to time because I didn't really want to sell him. But now it's happened! I've been so lucky to own him for the last seven years and it's very weird not to have him now, I miss him tons.

Still, I am a very lucky lady in that every so often I will still be riding the lovely Miss Pia so I can still carry on with my most favourite of pastimes. Very lucky indeed.

Anyway, a biiig 29 project update for you today. I have been working on lots of new stuff, going out and about and generally trying to distract myself!

29 Project - Days 122 - 131...

Day 122: Tuesday 21st September - Sketching...what quality drawings I come up with at the brainstorming stage! Working on new tee designs...

Day 123: Wednesday 22nd September - More Sketching. This time the design is being sketched into photoshop so I can work on layout and colour.

Day 124: Thursday 23rd September - Can you see a pattern emerging this week?! I was glued to the computer...More print design sketching, playing with layouts and sizing.

Day 125: Friday 24th September - Grubs Up! Ah, this is good Friday evening fodder, home made ratatouille, salad, bread and beer. Yum.

Day 126: Saturday 25th September - Thai Again! Yay! A big bunch of us went and had Thai for our friend Claire's birthday. It was delicious as usual (it's my favourite, I may have mentioned this before...!)

Day 127: Sunday 26th September - View from the King Harry Ferry. Mark and I took a trip down to Falmouth to have another dinner out (Nepalese this time) for another friend, Lisa's birthday. It was such a nice evening we decided to take the ferry. When I was a kid my brother and I used to call it the King Hairy Fairy...we were hilarious.

Day 128: Monday 27th September - Jewellery Trying...and photographing and measuring and getting lots of lovely new pieces ready to go in the shop!

Day 129: Tuesday 28th September - So Long my Beloved Steed...Today was the day he went. A hard, sad day. I spent the whole week beforehand trying not to think about it and enjoying him. It's taking some time to get used to not having a four legged beast to look after everyday, I keep feeling like I have forgotten to do something major! Anyway, he's going to be teaching someone new all of his dressage moves, I hope he is a good boy...I didn't want to take any pictures of him leaving, so here we are at a competition last year:

Day 130: Wednesday 29th September - Quartz. Taking my mind off things by going to watch a dressage clinic, looking at pretty stones and conjuring new jewels...

Day 131: Thursday 30th September - Cupcakes. I don't bake much (the last time was the rainbow cake attempt!) but I had the sudden urge to so made these ginger cakes. Wonky, misshapen, and varying in size, it's baking Bonbi style!

That's it for now...The 29 project will continue with October updates very soon!

Swallows, Autumn and Tiny Rings...

2010-09-23T21:35:00.000Z

I have been squirrelling away some new jewels for you guys! I have a few pieces that will be going in the shop next week, and more (like the dainty rings you can have a peek at below) that will be part of a brand new collection coming soooon!

Have a gander:

ALSO: How cute is this little brooch?! I Saw Anna from Custom Made twittering about it and told her I wanted one and we did a swap. I sent her a tote and a card in return for this soooopa brooch. I love it, and we both agreed it would be perfect pony attire. After all, a red rosette means WIN!!

Yet again: I'm back!

2010-09-22T18:08:00.003Z

This is turning into the year of frequent trips away it seems, aren't I lucky?! This last little holiday was really very good, spending fun time with friends at The End of the Road music festival, like I mentioned before, and then some time at good ole Centre Parcs = Awesome.

I have a MASSIVE 29 project update for you today and some new jewels for you tomorrow which include a limited edition garden themed pendant and a new bird bracelet. All with an Autumnal theme you understand.

Anyway, for now here are about 10 days worth of images from the last week or so, as always there are more on my Flickr Page:

29 Project - Days 111 - 121:

Day 111: Friday 10th September - Peacock Silhouettes. Our first day at The End of the Road festival in Dorset's Larmer Tree Gardens where they have lots of Peacocks roaming freely. it is very wonderful and this year there were babies to be seen...adorable!

Day 112: Saturday 11th September - Iron and Wine. I finally got to see him! After years of loving his music I finally saw Iron and Wine live and he played a beautiful stripped down set. Just him, a guitar and a bloke on the piano. So good and my highlight of the festival!

Day 113: Sunday 12th September - The Garden Stage. I love the setting at End of the Road, the main stage is set in an enclosed garden with trees all around. Everyone brings rugs and chairs and sits about during the day listening to the loveliness.

Day 114: Monday 13th September - On to Centre Parcs! After the festival, Mark and I spent the rest of the week at good old Centre Parcs with our friends Simon and Lucy and their little girl Charlotte. This here cabin was our home for the week...It was a little dated, (next in line for the upgrade I think!) like stepping back to a crumbling 90's in fact but we had a sauna (didn't use it) and and en-suite each so you know, we coped. Ha!

Day 115: Tuesday 14th September - Rapids! One of the great things about Centre Parcs is it's multi-faceted swimming pool. It's all flumes, hot tubs, plunge pools, wave machines and river rapids. Rad.

Day 116: Wednesday 15th September - Mark on his bike. Well, about to get on it anyway...The only transport here is bicycles or the land train.

Day 117: Thursday 16th September - Longleat Safari park!! I have wanted to come here for AGES, especially since I knew they have giraffes here. It is a little known fact that giraffes are my favourite of all the animals (apart from horses). I haven't seen any for real since a wonderful trip to feed them at Bush Gardens in Florida about 10 years ago. One day I will see them in their natural habitat I hope but for now these kind of safari parks will have to satisfy my giraffe fix...I took so many pictures of today, I couldn't pick just one, so here you have a giraffe and a greedy deer:

Day 118: Friday 17th September - The road home. Alas, all holidays have to come to an end and here we are making our way home across Bodmin Moor...

Day 119: Saturday 18th September - Show Time! Not one for a quiet life I agreed to ride lovely Pia in a dressage competition the day after we got back from holiday! Here I am in the horsebox with my dressage glad rags on (my coat isn't dirty by the way, I think it is a strange reflection on the mirror...!). It was a successful day despite Pia being a little on her toes and we chalked up two wins.

Day 120: Sunday 19th September - Exit. It was our friend Kim's birthday and we went to the pub where I spied this sign with it's odd wording!

Day 121: Monday 20th September - Morning stroll. Another shot from atop my Lauder horse!

Well, I think that's enough for now! I will update this here project again in a few days. I will show you new jewels tomorrow my friends...

29 Project and some free ship shopping!

2010-09-09T20:23:00.004Z

Hey! Tomorrow I am setting off on my hols...A bunch of us are heading to the End of the Road festival in Dorset's Larmer Tree Gardens and then Mark and I and our friends Lucy and Simon and their little girl are going on for a few days at Centre Parcs too, which I imagine will involve lots of bicycling and throwing ourselves down the river rapids, ha!

So, because of this, all orders placed from now until the 20th will ship on the 20th asap and in ship shape first class fashion. In the meantime you can get yourself some free ship shopping! Just enter the code FREESHIPSHOP at checkout...

So, here's the latest installment of the 29 project...

Days 108 - 110:

Day 108: Tuesday 7th September - Making jewels...stocking up etc with these pretty bits n pieces...

Day 109: Wednesday 8th September - Mark and I took a trip up to North Cornwall to go and visit his Mama. She's off to Australia for 4 weeks next week to visit Mark's brother and his wife Natalie and their new baby, Morwenna. I'm very jealous! Anyway, this moody looking shot was snapped at twilight on a humble Nokia...I quite like how it came out!

Day 110: Thursday 9th September - Today. I was trying to pack the tent for the weekend after giving it an airing and the kitties decided it was all great fun...cute but quite the hindrance!

This will be my last post for a week or so...As usual just before I go away I am bursting with ideas which I hope to be able to crack on with when I get back. Lots of projects I wanna get going!!

I hope you all have a fab weekend and good week next week...

All the Kings Horses

2010-09-07T21:39:00.005Z

Here it is! I know I posted a quick photograph of this a little while back, but I finally got it scanned and here is properly: 'All the Kings Horses' painted with gouache onto wood:

It has a herd of horses being ridden by a ghostly Cavalry...
The dimensions of this piece are a bit unusual i.e would be difficult to find a frame to fit...but I am thinking of making it into a print. What do you think?

Also, there are new cards in the shop! See them in the newly re-organised Cards and Prints section of the shop. I have more on the way too...

29 Project: Days 103 - 107

2010-09-07T20:01:00.003Z

Here's an update of the last week!

Days 103 - 107:

Day 103: Thursday 2nd September - Thai again! I went for dinner with the ladies and we chose to sit upstairs, not just for the novelty of sitting on the floor pads, but also because downstairs there was the rather odd entertainment choice of a guy playing schmaltzy ballads on an electric piano...!

Day 104: Friday 3rd September - Uh oh, I think Autumn is a coming...

Day 105: Saturday 4th September - Horse Trials. I always like heading over to Ladock horse trials...I used to compete here when I was younger and it's fun to go and watch. Plus they do a good Pimms!

Day 106: Sunday 5th September - Berry Picking. I really wanted to make a blackberry and apple crumble so Mark and I went to pick some berries! There were so many we ended up picking enough for not only us, but some for my folks too and enough to freeze a big batch for mid-winter crumbles. Yum. There are a few more berry pics on my Flickr page...)

Day 107: Monday 6th September - Lichen. I walk past these everyday and love their colours and shapes. So pretty.

For ever and ever...

2010-09-03T15:43:00.004Z

What a day...rush, rush, rush! I'm afraid I didn't have a chance to get the cards I so wanted to show you today photographed, but instead I just wanted to share this little painting I made as a wedding present for the dear friends that got married last weekend...

It is painted with gouache onto paper and framed in a white painted wood frame with a mount...(if you want to see it bigger, you can do over at my Flickr photostream)

Anyway...I have added those little birds from yesterdays blog post to the shop today. Hurrah! They are available as prints (HERE!) and I also have the colourful framed originals for sale too, HERE!

I hope to have the cards up for your perusal very soon!

New things are a coming...

2010-09-02T14:20:00.004Z

As I mentioned earlier I have lots of new bits and pieces which will be added to the shop very soon including new jewels, prints, and some original drawings too...As well as these, I have some new cards as that I will show you tomorrow!

First up, there is a selection of framed colourful birds winging their way to the shop...they will be available as prints soon too:

Bird drawings: Gouache on Paper. 21 x 14.5 cm. Framed in painted wood frames.

Another original: Black Beauty - Gouache on paper. 21 x 14.5. Framed in a painted wood frame with mount.

I also have some more of these cute as pie lockets and vintage blossom stud earrings ready to be re-stocked...yay!