new extinct birds

I am growing my family of extinct birds. there is unfortunately plenty more than this. all some sad stories, but I hope a reminder to be good to the birds with have left (and their homes and their friends.)
here we have the guadalupe storm petrel, liverpool pigeon, new zealand quail, slender billed grackle, bonin thrush, chatham island fernbird, laughing owl, greak auk, robust white eye.
I'll slowly be adding them to my Etsy shop if there's one you would like but can't find, feel free to send me an email and I'll make one up especially for you.

 christmas is coming. all my usual festive pieces are available now in my etsy shop, including my 2013 christmas card, the merry pear shaped partridge. as usual, I recommend getting any christmas orders in as early as possible, especially for those of you outside the EU, because the mail can slow down over december. the safest bet is to order in november to be sure your item will arrive in plenty of time for christmas.

Illustrated Book Festival

From the 4th till 9th of November my Extinct Birds colour in / zine is going to be part of the 7th International Illustrated Book Festival in Barcelona. There will be an exhibition, talks and workshops, and all the books are available for perusal and purchase. Check the program above for all the details.
For those of us who like to look at the pictures.

recipe cards

fresh back from the printer, my new recipe cards. basically made because my old set was running out, and I couldn't find any I liked well enough. these are printed on my usual part-recycled kraft card, here in greece. 
the cards are two sided, for those long recipes, and lots of space. these are available in sets of 12, with four pieces of each design per set. there is the sardine card, fig and passionfruit card and olive oil card.

washi tape

I am very excited to announce that there is now such a thing as Lila Ruby King washi tape, how did we live without it? earlier in the year I was approached by japanese stationary maker Aimez le Style, to come up with three designs, for three rolls of tape. the samples came back to me this week, and I'm so happy with them, they give me that same happy feeling all washi tape does. stationary makes me happy, this is normal right.

so right now, I have a very small quantity I am willing to part with, and depending on interest, I may order some more in the future. I'm selling them as sets of three in my Etsy shop right now, if you're reading this and those sets have sold out, leave a comment, or message me through Etsy, and if I am able to get hold of more I will let you know.

a quick note on shipping- I'm selling these in sets of three because they're quite bulky, (38mm x 10m) and with the recent price increases at my post office, one roll of tape ships for the same price as three, so it just made more sense to sell them as a set.

so hurrah. let's all get to sticking stuff. 

card making tutorial

I get quite a few people asking about my method for creating my fabric gift cards, and so I've created a small pdf tutorial that covers my technique, from the method to the materials and tools I use.  this is a technique that can be used not just for fabric, but any collage materials. I hope you'll be able to use my method as a starting point for creating your own beautiful designs! the tutorial is in my Etsy shop now, available as an instant download.

new stockist - 1PM - charlton, australia.

lila ruby king is now available at One Passing Moment in charlton, victoria, australia. love their range of gardening supplies, and heirloom seeds in adorable packages. will have to visit next time I'm in aus, I want some.

Find 1PM at:
52 High Street
Charlton 3525
Victoria
Australia

dawanda

reopened my online shop on DaWanda. still doesn't have quite the range of my Etsy shop, but nice for those in the EU who wish to shop in euros. will be adding more items over the coming days and weeks.

new stockist - cinda lou in Ohio - USA

a new place for you to discover - Lila Ruby King giftcards and post cards  are now stocked by A Girl Named Cinda Lou in Ohio, USA. I think it's quite fitting for a shop named for owners Debbie and Julia's grandmother, to be stocking Lila Ruby King, named for my great grandmother.

A Girl Named Cinda Lou has a mix of vintage clothes, records, jewellery and furniture, and a selection of original crafty goodies. sounds like a fun place to be. 

A Girl Named Cinda Lou

20 North State Street

Westerville, Ohio, 43081

USA

gocco print - cala birds

 a new cala birds gocco print that I finished last week, now available in my online shop.  for those who aren't familiar with gocco printing, it's just a small scale screen printer made in japan. the colour is hand mixed, but for all intents and purposes I believe we can just say it is red, and the paper is a flecked, recycled content, white card.

cala bird drawings

I've added some new drawings to my online shop over the last couple of days, some new birds. recently I have been drawing a lot of greek pots and other motifs, and decided to apply the same principle to a flock of birds, what else. these are the same family as the seabird I created for my tees, and I hope to get some bigger sized drawings started soon, wrist permitting.

something for gardeners

I have a new set of postcards available in my Etsy shop, I was inspired to create this series while taking walks around my neighbourhood. A well kept garden is a beautiful thing, and makes your street, and your city, and your world a more beautiful place. Inspired by guerrilla gardeners, I thought to create a card that could be dropped in a letterbox anonymously, or posted to someone you know, that would thank them for their great work in our cities!

I have 6 different designs, It is a Please to Pass by your Garden, Yours are the most Beautiful Flowers in the Street, Your Roses are the Loveliest, Thank you for your Lovely Garden, Well Done Green Thumb, and May all your Weeds be Wildflowers.

You'll find them now in my online shop, and very soon at Hear Hear in Amsterdam.

thank you

two new gift cards, fresh from the printers, I wanted to add some thank you cards to my range, and how best to say thank you but with flowers or a flock of birds.

 eco friendly as always, in my online shop from today.

tshirts

my first screen printed tees!

I've been looking to get tshirts printed for a couple of years now, I'm sorry to all who requested them that it's taken me this long. I hope you're happy with how they've come out!

one of the reasons it took me awhile, apart from usual procrastination that doubles the time of most new endeavors, I really wanted to find the best people to work with to get the printing done. I'm just not set up, nor have the space to do it myself.

In the end I found a wonderful boutique printer in the UK, who are eco friendly just like me. they use solvent free, water based inks, which are better for the environment, and also don't require anything more than water to clean up.

I also really wanted to find a great tee.. this is something I'm really picky about, I hate tees that are too short, I hate tiny neck holes. I wanted a vintage style cotton, and I wanted nice colours. I also wanted something that was ethically made, and low impact on the environment. the printers source tees from the Earth Positive range, and they are perfect. they are organic cotton, low carbon and fair trade, and equally important, great quality and design, comfortable and in great colours. hurrah.

I'm starting small, just one design in two colours, on a womens fit (small, medium, large, extra large,) but I hope soon to add some new designs, and also some mens sizes.

I hope you like them, you can find them in my Etsy shop now.

I made a tote to match too-

my natural curiosity colouring book is back in stock, as edition 2. with two new illustrations included. in my etsy shop now.

inspiration

maybe because it's wildflower season but I'm feeling all daydreamy in regards to flowers at the moment, I've been drawing lots, and I am in love with the pattern and style of these flower illustrations from around 1600. a couple of flower projects are on the go, and hope to have them ready soon, actually I should be showing them off today, but well there was a bit of a 'cough' glitch, and now it'll be another couple of weeks. so enjoy these pretties in the meantime.

butterfly pins

a new little collection of acrylic pins, inspired by the butterflies on the island of rhodes, but also a good excuse for a large dose of colour and pattern, two of my favourite things. some are already in my etsy shop and also at La Trap shop + gallery in Mets, Athens.

sea level - ceramic tableware collection with ArtMind

I know I've been hinting awhile about the new collection I've been working on with ceramicist ArtMind, and a few of you were even in the little group we reached out to with an opinion poll. Thanks to everyone for your encouragement and opinions (or votes) because at last the pieces are finished, and we're able to show them off.

The collection is named Sea Level, as all the imagery is inspired by plants and animals in or by the water, and we picked a colour scheme to match.

All the pieces feature my illustrations, that have been turned into decals for ceramic by a professional printer. 

Mitsy hand picked the ceramic pieces we'd be using, they're made by a Dutch company and it's a really fun collection of tableware that she felt (and I agreed) matched out style and theme perfectly.

The collection at the moment consists of a bowl, a cup, a plate and saucer, and we've created four themes, for four sets. What's fun about the series, is that the plate is made to fit neatly on top of the bowl, and the saucer sits on top of the cup.

The first set became available in Mitsy's online shop today, the seadragons. The other four will be added over this week so keep checking back. The seadragons will soon be joined by the coral series, the narwhals and the waterbirds (not necessarily in that order.)

Lastly, we wanted to share with you the recipe for the Thumbprint Jam Biscuit that made me ever so hungry while photoediting the other day, perfect to have with a cup of tea in one of our new pieces!

Ingredients:
225g self raising flour
100g cold butter
75g sugar
1 egg
2 tbs milk
raspberry jam

Preheat the oven at 200°C and grease a baking pan or use a baking sheet.
Add the flour and the butter in a bowl and mix it with your fingers until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Add the sugar. Whisk the egg and stir it through the mixture.
Add the milk little by little through the mixture until your dough is soft. If the dough is too dry, add some more milk.
Scoop teaspoons of the mixture onto the baking tray. If all goes well, you will have enough for at least 12 biscuits. They grow a bit while baking so leave some space in between them while baking.
Make the top of the biscuit a bit flat with your spoon or hand and press your thumb into the middle.
Add a bit raspberry jam into the thumbprint hole.
Bake the biscuits 15 to 20 minutes in the oven until they are golden brown.

Take the biscuits out of the oven and let them cool down.
You can keep them 3 to 4 days in an airtight container.

fishes

something new, now in my online shop, a Hello Sardine keychain. there's two styles, the stripey fish or the spotty fish.. with another style to come soon, dotty. too good to eat!

just finished up a series of pins based on images from ancient greek art - figures that are painted onto pots and vases, or made into sculptures and statues. me resist an animal, inside a pattern, not possible. 

these pins are available at Koukoutsi, on Skoufa 81, and their new shop, drosini 9, Kiffisia.

lastly some current work in progress, a bit of a garden love and envy.

open again

 

I'm back to work again after my month away, so from today my online shop is back open. Lots of new things in progess... the previously promised new ceramic work is coming along well. Some new Greek themed pins (you can perhaps make out a couple in the top photograph) and a new fabric design, all belong in the coming soon section, so keep checking back for updates.
This year (yes I know it is April already) I'm going to try and be a bit more regular with my email newsletters as well, so if you're not already signed up head over to my website to put your name down.

just letting you know I'm going to be on vacation, and so my online shop will be closed for 4 weeks from Saturday March 16th, till Monday April 15th. I'll still have access to the internet (I should hope) so I'll still be around to answer any emails in the meantime.

Lots of exciting projects happening when I return, Mitsy and I should have the new line of tableware just about ready to launch in the week I get back, and well, we'll see about some other things too.

collaboration pt.3

the last little job for me to finish for the new collaboration I'm working on with Mitsy / ArtMind is all done. illustrations finished, formatted and sent on their way. now it's all in Mitsy's hands. She'll be starting on some samples this week, so fingers crossed it all goes well and we get to see some finished items soon!

we just got these postcards back from the printers, made especially to celebrate the new collection. anyone who buys a piece from the new collection will receive on with their order. Contact me if you're interested in purchasing a few on their own.

site and email down

update: all seems to be working again! if you sent me an email over the past two days and haven't heard back from me, then it may not have gotten through, so please send again and I'll get back to you right away.


just a quick note to let you know my web server is down at the moment, and so I'm not getting any emails. Hopefully it'll be back up soon, but if you need to reach me asap, send me a message through my Etsy shop (look for the blue Contact button on the left.)

collaboration pt.2

these cups and bowls and saucers are lovely, but you must agree they look rather naked. If you read my last post, you might then be able to guess what Mitsy and I are working on next...

collaboration

 I'm working on a new project with Mitsy (a.k.a ArtMind) it's coming along slowly, but here's a sneak peak at some of the imagery. These are just the starting sketches, but you can probably see a theme appearing. I'm really excited to see the end product, it'll be something completely new for for me, and hopefully it's not too far away!