Getting my blog together... FABULOUS AND FREE RESOURCE

Morning...
So every once in a while the universe hears ya and you get a little bit of what you need landing in your lap... or your inbox.

I really like the idea of having a blog. I have blog envy when I look at some folk's blogs - they're consistent in style, tone and posting. Me? I'm a little bit all over the place but I'm enthusiastic.

The big buzzword for me this year is PLANNING since I've heard a lot of people talking about individuals only having a certain amount of Decision Juice. What you use up deciding what to wear and what to eat each morning you don't get back... so you might have run out by lunch time if you're anything like me and suffer DECISION FATIGUE!!!

Therefore, planning is bang on trend. Schedule a time to plan your weekly wardrobe, or whattheheck: be like Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Barack Obama or Albert Einstein and get your own uniform wardrobe. I don't think I can bear to wear or eat the same thing everyday but I can spend one moment each week planning it. And I can simplify lots of other things in my life by not having to make a series of decisions about them every single day.

So how does this relate to my blog? Well I'd started back with enthusiasm a few weeks ago with a new schedule of 3 times a week. On Monday I missed my post. I just couldn't think what to write and I have so much design work to do at the moment that I just couldn't spend the time deciding what to write about. Then I saw THIS... I can't quite remember in all the madness of trying to get stuff done if the offer for it just appeared in my inbox or if I clicked through some links in an email about something else but whatever happened it appeared without me searching for it at all.

It took me no time at all to read through it and fill in the plan and oh what a plan! Themed weeks and scheduling stuff will really help to keep me enthused and organised and get the blog that I really want for you, dear reader (I love that phrase!!!).

So, Beth Kempton - cheers, you really are fab.
Love
Frankie x

Back to work/school...

Hi everyone,

Hope you are breezing through the beginning of the year with lots of energy and excitement for whatever you might have planned for 2015. I've got a rotten head cold which has slowed me down a little but I'm pushing through with lots of tea and paracetamol!

At the moment one of the things I am working on is a daily task sheet design. Here's a screenshot of it and once it's finished I'm going to put it up as a free downloadable resource here on my blog.

I'm testing it on myself at the moment and when I am happy with the format I'm going to jazz it up with lovely lettering and patterns! Basically, I just really wanted to make a daily to do list for myself that has everything on one sheet. I've lost count of the diaries and notebooks I have bought over the years and abandoned after a few months... I also used Evernote for a while but I've found that what I really need is something I can pin up in front of me and see in order to keep me on track for the day.

How are you getting organised and keeping on track? I'd love to know!
Love
Frankie x

Hello 2015!

Hello and Happy New Year!

I've had such a lovely break and now that I'm set up in my new studio I can't wait to make this year a fun filled pattern adventure. What are your dreams, goals and intentions for this year? Have you planned and mapped your journey to success?

My work related goals and intentions include:

• Seeing my licensed work on products in the soon to be launched Shibumi store.
• Redesigning and updating my website with my new work
• Launching some own brand products
• Writing my first ebook
• Getting my work seen at trade shows
• Finding an agent

I have some other bigger goals and dreams that I feel a little afraid to share on here right now so I guess I need to practise telling them to myself a little bit more first. Recently I've really started to realise just how important it is to believe that you can do something in order to get on with doing it... Or as Mahatma Gandhi so wisely and eloquently put it: 

“Your beliefs become your thoughts, 

Your thoughts become your words, 

Your words become your actions, 

Your actions become your habits, 

Your habits become your values, 

Your values become your destiny."

Wishing you all the best for the new year,

Frankie x

Merry Christmas everyone

Hello!

Yesterday I spent the day putting the final touches to my studio in readiness for 2015 - I'm raring to go and intend to make it a really productive, happy, creative and successful year. The rug and some other bits arrived from Ikea... I know it's become a bit of an Ikea showroom but really they are so brilliant at doing great storage solutions and lovely textiles at great prices it makes it hard to resist.

After clearing the desks and moving furniture, assembling things, sorting out drawers and then making it all tidy again I was treated to a delivery of mulled wine and mince pies. Yum! It was pouring with rain outside but with Louis Armstrong & Ella Fitzgerald playing and my favourite scented winter candle burning, the atmosphere felt magical and festive and now I really feel Christmassy and ready to celebrate.

Bog Standard make such beautiful candles

This is my last blog post for 2014. So I wish you all the very best for the festive period and I will be back in 2015 with patterns galore!

Love
Frankie x

Essential Christmas Presents for Pattern Designers - Part Two: Creature Comforts

Hello again,

In the second part of my Christmas gift ideas series I thought I would share a few creature comfort gift ideas that you might want to treat a loved one, put on your own Christmas wish list or even just buy for yourself! 

White Stuff Christmas Bear Jumper

I love White Stuff! The patterns on their clothing, the graphic design on their website and branding is so quirky and witty. This bear was a motif that featured throughout their winter magalogue and I'm delighted to see it made it onto a jumper! I love this take on the Christmas jumper trend - it's really understated yet fun.

Ikea Vidstrup Rug

I would have loved to have this striking Ikea rug for my new studio but the dimensions didn't work. I love the mustard and grey colour combo - I think it would look great in a room with white white walls - just making it feel that little bit more cosy.


Tweedmill Purple Sage Mix Wool Blanket

I was given one of these Tweedmill blankets for Christmas last year and I love it - a really stylish way to add some warmth to chilly, winter nights. The hardest part is deciding which colour to choose as they do so many lovely variations. I love my purple sage one. Which one would you choose?

Hope you are keeping toasty warm today,
Love Frankie x

Essential Christmas Presents for Pattern Designers - Part One: Colour Fun

Merry Morning!

I'm feeling very festive today and thought I would share a few of my favourite finds for Christmas with you. Maybe you want to gift yourself for all your efforts over the last year or send this blogpost to the present buyers in your life as a little hint! 

Today I'm focusing on colourful gifts...

Ciate Mini Mani Manor

Ciate Mini Mani Manor

This beauty was a little early Christmas present to myself because I never had an advent calendar when I was growing up. Now I feel like a big kid rushing to open the 'door' every morning! There's a wonderful variety of colours in the calendar and I love the mini sizes - I don't think I've ever used a whole bottle of nail polish up so these are the perfect size for me. The calendar is still on sale and represents good value as a collection even if it's a little late for an advent calendar. It's a great way to have fun experimenting with new colours you might not have instinctively picked. And looking at all the bottles make great inspiration for pattern palettes!

J Herbin Inks

Feast your peepers on these colours... 

J Herbin Inks

Oh la la! These have to be the prettiest inks I've ever seen! I recently purchased Poussière de Lune (Moon Dust Violet!) and it's just so lovely I can't stop using it. Even the shape of the bottle is lovely with it's little pen/brush rest on the front!

Rusty Anchor, Tea Brown, Indian Orange... Such yummy colours and they even do a scented range which I'd love to try! Hint hint! 

Jessica Swift Prints

If you're looking to inject a little bit of colour into your home or studio, take a look at Jessica's beautiful prints. I'm absolutely bowled over by her stunning use of colour. Here's a small selection of her work taken from her website...

Jessica Swift Prints

Swoon! Look how well they read so small too! A testament to her understanding of colour. I love! Imagine having one of those to look at every morning when you wake up - just so cheerful and pretty. I've got one of Jessica's lovely phone cases and it's gorgeous too. 

So I hope that's given you a little a colour boost on this cold and grey Monday morning. I'd love to hear about your colourful Christmas gift ideas! 

Love,

Frankie x

My new studio!

Morning!

I thought I would share a few pictures of my new studio for fun. I'm so grateful to have such a beautiful room to work from at last. For the last couple of years I have been working in a very dark basement room which although lovely and cosy in the winter time was damp and so very cold in the summer - so much so that I had to move out and work at a tiny desk this year until I moved house. 

I always try to be tidy but a lack of space and storage meant that my old room was always a mess and it got to the stage where I didn't want to paint or draw because it just always felt so cluttered. However since I moved house and got my attic room, Ikea came to my rescue! I opted to get a few KALLAX shelving units and I'm so glad. They're really versatile and fit perfectly. 

I also got a chest of drawers called ALEX - which is lovely but disappointing as it's only just A2 size and could have done with being oversized slightly so that you can get paper in and out more easily or comfortably store A3 folders side by side.

I bought 2 MALM desks, one has an extending panel and I wish I'd taken both like this now instead of the cupboard on the other one. The pull out unit on it gives a great bit of extra space when you've lots of stuff on your desk.

As you can see, I went crazy for cactus plants too. I just love them. My plan is to create some terrariums with them some day...

If you're wondering about the candle tins, they are from a company called Pintail and they do the most gorgeous fragrances. One of my dreams is to have my own candle range one day or to have a company use my patterns to decorate their tins. 

The glass baubles in the jar are from Paperchase from a few years ago. It's the first time I could bring myself to take them from the packet!!! I loved the way they were organised in their colours and every one of them is a different colour/finish. But they do look yummy in the jar and it's my take on a Christmas tree for the time being.

I also now have a view out of my window which is a real treat. I'll try to get a good picture of it soon and share it. I love to see where people create and so I thought I would share my space with you! Hope you enjoyed it!

Enjoy your day,

Frankie x