21 DAYS LEFT...

...until the end of the year! But also 21 days left of (non existent) blogging. I'm sure it'll come as no big surprise but my blog is ending on December 31st. I have lost the love for it and there is no point keeping it up. I have little time to live my life at the minute never mind document it and write about it here. I don't feel it is the sort of thing I can leave up here and just dip in and out of randomly, I'm an all or nothing girl so I'm happier closing it down. I find it easier to manage Instagram as a social space to share news. I am also feeling increasingly uncomfortable about Stanley's internet footprint. For me, age 3 feels like the cut off point. I feel a mix of sadness and relief writing this post. Relief I no longer feel obliged to document my life, my work, and Stanley. But sadness because when I had the time I did love blogging and all the friends I met through doing it. I'm sure this will not be the total end, I plan on updating my website (and eventually moving to an all new space) and will include a work only news/blog section there, and of course if you want to see what I or Stanley are up to you can find me on IG @sarahillustrator. The final posts will be the portrait a week (which, of course I'm behind on) without which I'm sure this blog would have failed about 6 months ago!

Thanks to everyone who has ever visited this site, or commented - it means a lot.

Love S & s xxx

THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

A few weeks ago I was invited up to the National Portrait Gallery, London, to see a preview of the exhibition of Elizabeth I and Her People. I love the Gallery and have worked with them before on their Big Draw events but if I'm honest it is not one I choose to visit with Stanley so thought I'd make the most of the offer and go. This was a family blogger event and so we were going to see the family trail in the exhibition and to test out the coffee and sweet things afterwards!

The exhibition was really good, small enough to get round all of it and they gave us a 'Family Trail' so we could focus on a theme within the exhibition. The little leaflet was perfect and even though Stanley is not quite three he enjoyed trying to find the animals in the various paintings and objects around the room. It was interesting to look at Tudor paintings with a fresh eye having previously only studied them at school! In fact when we were looking for all the different animals in Elizabeth I amazing dress two ladies in front remarked that they hadn't even noticed the animals and were pleased to have been shown something new!

They also have family trails which are free to pick up and a lovely thing to do with slightly older children around the museum - they can be a portrait artist and look for different things to draw. The paper quality is really good too (speaking from a proper paper geek!)

Although it is not a place I think of to take Stanley (normally heading for the Science Museum) it was really nice not to rely on buttons and fancy gadgets to keep him entertained - more effort from me, but a really lovely experience. I know they also have free storytelling sessions with an art activity afterwards once a month in the museum too, which is a lovely way to be introduced to a seemly 'stuffy' painting and learn the story behind the person in the picture.

The Portrait restaurant was great too - even though you are right in the middle of London there are some surprisingly nice views from the restaurant floor.

We were testing out their really lovely afternoon tea for kids which included a selection of sandwiches as well as 'ice your own biscuits' complete with tiny piping bags and dried rose petal sprinkles! Needless to say, Stan was a fan! It would make a lovely treat for a special occasion.

If you live in London GO! I think you'll be surprised by how wonderful it is to visit with kids.

BOOM.

Ok so this is a little of what my brain, my desk, my room and the whole damn house looks like. MESS. But it is also a snippet of what I'm working on at the minute now the other book is outta my hair. I have a trip to Newcastle on Saturday for my Seven Stories workshop, then one more week and then finally a little relaxing. I will hopefully be able to get back into blogging and I have big plans for the blog. I'm thinking a complete shift. I'm considering two different directions....I can't work out which to plunge for, but hoping to work it out in my head very soon.

INKED

So today I'm waffling as a guest blogger over here on Sash's blog. She let me do it. Which is amazing really considering the way I write and the way she does. Anyway, I've been a reader for a fair old while now and I love her stories, her honest way of telling things how they are, even when man are they damned hard. Pop on over and have a read of what I have to say, but please do scroll down and read a little further, I promise if you'll be hooked. Her daughter is a beauty. It really makes a change from a lot of the other 'perfect' blogs out there.

MERRY CHRISTMAS...

...to you all! I am taking a well deserved break from it all and having a few days off from blogging. If I don't get back here before new year, then wishing you all love and luck for 2013. Thanks as always for reading, commenting and supporting me where you can with my work. This little blog has grown a lot over the last year and that is all really down to you. I appreciate so much each and every page hit and comment I receive so thanks so much. Here's to 2013 - lets see what is in store!

PS I know reindeer don't officially have whiskers, but you know....

MEETING FRIENDS

And by friends I mean internet friends. I always started blogging as a way to show my working methods in my illustration. Bits and pieces that inspire me - other work I love and my own books and illustration. Recently as you know I have included Stanley in my blog as he is obviously the main part of my life and this has led me down a different blogging path and into the paths of other like minded bloggers. I am not one normally for the whole social networking scene. I'm not on twitter, I don't have time for it and I know I'd be too concincious about how many followers I'd have...I'm needy like that! So when I started blogging and being brave enough to come out of the woodwork (or lurking I think it's called in the internet world!) and comment on a few nice blogs I started to feel good. Meet other like minded Mums that were blogger Mums but not typical mummy bloggers if you see what I mean! In that group I have met designers, makers, vintage collectors, inspiring workers and generally amazing Mums. I'm really enjoying blogging at the moment, I feel relaxed about it all, happy to blog as and when I feel I need to. I just wished I could jet all over the place to meet these new people in the flesh. For the time though I'm happy seeing what they are up to in the world of cyberspace and planning a few more UK based trips. A while ago I recieved the most amazing parcel from one of my favourite bloggers Jenny. (Who unfortunately is stopping blogging in just a few short days) She had a vintage sale online and was good enough to send to the UK. She slippped in an extra goodie for me and wrote the sweetest note, what a thoughtful touch from someone I have never officially met.

I'm happy to have 'met' people like her, and hope to continue to do so. As we speak I am off tomorrow to meet up with two bloggers I know on-line but have yet to meet in real life. I'm looking forward to the little trip down to Bristol to see Abbi and Fritha. I don't feel weird about it, I know we'll get on because we've all been chatting for almost a year. I do sometimes feel though that I have to justify my friendship - like other people think it's odd. It feels sometimes that the word 'internet friend' is a dirty word. Which is silly because I remember before the internet days penpal was never a dirty word - it was encouraged to keep up correspondence and find out about other lives around the world. I think any friend no matter how you know them is still a friend. That is not to say the my friends round the corner mean any less or more, they are just there for me in a different way. Jenny posted a great piece about it on her blog recently and the sentiments she expressed I totally agree with. Heck if it wasn't so far and so expensive I'd be making trips to see Jenny herself, Drea and Ashley if they'd have me and Stanley for a visit!!!

THOUGHTS

Hello, sorry I've been away for so long. The truth is I didn't really know what to blog about. Maybe because I didn't have anything blog worthy. Or maybe I was too busy. I sort of hope it was because I was enjoying life and not worrying about blogging. I don't think that was the case either. I was reading other peoples blogs and thinking "I really must post something soon". It's been 2 days since my last post. 3 days. 4, 5, and now 6? However why do I really care? Does anyone really care? This isn't a for profit blog. Not currently anyway, maybe in the future who knows. It was set up first as a pure illustration blog, recording my work and only that. Nothing really about my life or home, or anything outside illustration. Then Stanley came along and I felt lost in my work, out of touch and sort of re-invented the blog to include him. To post creatively, to make me feel like that part of my life, being a Mum was also work, creative work. Somewhere along the line my hits went up a bit. Nothing major really but that made me feel I ought to blog more, and made me conscious about what content I was posting. I feel like I've become a jack/blog of all trades, master of...... Posting on random subjects, not really sticking to one thing. I'm not sure this really matters, but I think recently I felt my posts have become content weak. I'm just sticking up a few pictures and writing a sentence or two, not really worthy of a whole blog post but desperate to make sure I've at least blogged today. Anyway I guess what I'm trying to say is perhaps I'll blog a little less, but hope to have more interesting posts. I think that sounds like total common sense now, but took me a while to realise it! I hope that the mixture of the illustration/baby thing is ok too. And those of you that read my blog for illustration don't roll your eyes when a 'Stanley Style' or other baby related post crops up. I've realised too that blogging properly takes time, which I don't have a vast amount of. I like my evenings to myself and my husband and don't want to be attached to this darn computer when Stanley has gone to bed. I want to enjoy my time instead of documenting it and sticking it up here for all to see. I also need to do work. Paid work. I need to get cracking on several book projects that I have to devote much more time to if I'm going to succeed at them. Hopefully I'll be able to post about them up here soon, and many more interesting things....just maybe not so often in future. Thanks for reading and commenting though when you do. It is always nice to hear from you.

♥ S & s

UPDATE: ROCKINGHORSE

the lovely Jenny over at frecklewonder has featured my rocking horse re-vamp on her blog! i am truly honoured. it was her presto, change-o! posts after all that kick started me into action. her blog is great by the way if you haven't been over there...then do. her bit about me is here.

JUST A LITTLE CLICKETY CLICK PLEASE!

so hi i know i asked before and i'm asking again because they have reset the count on top baby blogs... i hope you have enjoyed reading my blog - certainly since i've been trying to blog more often, be more honest and generally put together some interesting posts! i feel sometimes like a jack of all trades, master of none. so am i a lifestyle blog.....eshhh how horrid is that phrase?!! an illustration blog, or baby blog? well i guess i'm all of these. i just try and write things that i'm doing, that i think other people are doing and hope people like to read about. i think it's difficult to work and bring up a baby. this blog helps keep me motivated and meet nice people like you! other mamas, illustrators, creatives and the like!

anyway if you like what you've been reading here please take a minute to vote for this blog and i'll keep up my side of the deal by trying to post interesting stuff! i won't ask again, i'll just leave the button on the left so you can click it every day or whenever you feel like. thanks so much.

just so you know what you've done so far has been amazing. you moved me up from like no 500 to 300 something and now i'm like 100 and something! so exciting. i know it shouldn't matter what flipping rank i am on that site, but it does. i'm like though though. just a teensy bit competitive!

love me, stanley and all my colouring in pencils!

PLEASE & THANK YOU

hello.
you may have noticed the 'new' button on the left hand side of my blog. well if you could be sure to press it daily that'd be uh-mazing. you see the thing is i've really enjoyed updating my blog recently - making more effort with what i post so it might be interesting to those that stop by, and i've also been so touched that some of you have, and more than that, that you leave me a comment too to say so. it really is lovely. so it would be nice for me to have even more visitors, especially as i'm about to attempt to put some things into an etsy shop, and you know, now that i'm a stay at home mama it'd be great to earn a wee bit of cash ;-) if that sounds like i'm asking for money, i'm really not. just good old fashioned support!
so i won't bombard you with emails begging you to vote all the time and put it at the bottom of every flipping post. just asking the once pretty please if you could remember to hit that button once in a blue moon i'd be very grateful. thanks for reading, saying hello, and the support.
thanks so much :)
love sarah & stanley xxx

see. look how happy it makes him having you all here!