Loving...

...the L.S. Lowry inspired google homepage today...it makes me long for my Northern roots.

A Beautiful Baptism

A couple of months back I was asked by the gorgeous Featherstone family to help them design some invites to their cute-as-a-button son's Baptism. Of course I was thrilled to be asked and eager to capture both them and the feel of the day in their custom design.

The church of the Baptism was set in the beautiful borough of Hampstead and we decided to set the design within the church itself, to include the wonderfully ornate detail of its alter.

 

Capturing the cuteness of this family was not a chore - I mean look at his little cheeks, what a poppet!  

We decided on a palette of sky blue and soft brown and on with the printing I went. It was lovely to be out in the outhouse using the printing table again, it's been a little neglected recently due to all the baby plates I've been making!

 

We went for a recycled brown envelope and I used white calligraphy for the addresses, mixing a script and classic font. 

Inside the invites we used a matching blue paper, with brown printed ink and also matching envelope inserts which really bring it together don't you think?

I really had a lot of fun designing these invites, and am thinking of making some ready-to-go sets for the shop, what do you think? 

Do get in contact if you think I could help you design some beautiful invites for your event, I'd be thrilled to design for you - sally@thelittlepeach.co.uk

The Little Peach xx

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween Peachers!

What are you up to for it? We had a smashing Halloween party last weekend (which I still feel like I'm paying for!) and a house full of zombies, mummies, chucky's and generally bizarre looking folk helped us get our ghoul on till the wee small hours.

 Me and the Mr decided to go as the twins from the shining (we look so alike don't you think?!) but in general it is always Halloween in our house with these two rascals running around!

And I'll leave you with a blast from the past - this was the first EVER EVER single I bought on cd, like even before I have my own CD player and had to play it on the desk-sized hi-fi stack system in the front room! Oh the hours of fun we had jumping around to this! What was your first single?

The Little Peach xx

The wonderful SAROY!

I'm only just getting updated to a bit of a summer round up (nooooooo why did the summer not arrive and is now gone so sooooooon! ARGH! darn and blast English summers!) and a smashing day we got treated to this summer was the marriage of the good friends of ours - Sarah and Roy.

Now I have a lot to thank Sarah and Roy for as it is through these mutual friends and one Glaswegian Halloween party that I have meeting Mr Phil to thank. And it is up to bonnie Scotland that we traveled for the wedding of the year.

The wedding ceremony was set at Sarah's family home near Kinross, in a breathtaking converted barn built by her late father. It was a such a lovely setting that you can see why Scottish law allows you to marry in any place you'd like - England marriage laws mean you have to wed in only specific venues (how rubbish!)
The Barn itself was stunning, filled to the brim with hand carved wooden details (Sarah's father was a wood carver and carpenter) and I loved the informal atmosphere they created - even the close family were in pride of place on the family's sofas.

The ceremony was a humanist service, something I haven't come across before but that really struck a cord with me. The lady conducting the ceremony could have been a member of their family listening to how heartfelt the words were. A real eye opener.

Sarah looked beyond gorgeous in her adapted vintage dress and Roy, ever the dapper gentleman complimented her perfectly. The bridesmaids wore striking turquoise strapless dresses, including a very pregnant (but still tiny) Tie, one of my oldest friends.

Just some of the amazing wooden details in their house - hand carved Walrus and Carpenter banister ends!

On we went after the ceremony, a short bus ride away to Cleish village hall, a surprisingly modern space that still kept it's rural charm. Decorated with a good dose of bunting and a special banner made just for SAROY!

The decor was just beautiful, and my favourite bit was the assorted vintage salt and pepper shakers on each table - ours were these little cuties...

On we jived into the night and even met this little Olympic gymnastic hopeful - just look at the concentration!

 What a truly wonderful day it was! So a big thank you to Sarah and Roy (and families) for making it so special!

So as a present to the happy munchkins I decided to make them their very own little plate, featuring them on one of their most treasured holidays to Sothwold...

You can see the famous beach huts and lighthouse of Southwold in the background and down on the beach Sarah and Roy are enjoying a bottle of fizz along with their vintage styled picnic...

I even decided to put a little decal with a message on the back, something that I am happy to offer in any custom orders!

And here is the sketch that it came from...

 ...I love looking back and seeing how the sketch has turned out and thought you might like to see!

I'm more than happy to design custom plates for wedding presents if you have any friends getting married, just £45.

Hope you have enjoyed this look back as much as we enjoyed being there!

The Little Peach xxx

You've got a lot on your (lovely) plate!

Recently I have been asked (or asked myself) to produce some plates with custom designs and have had a thoroughly enjoyable time bringing these ideas to life. Here is the first one I've made, a custom baby birth plate for a little lovely called Joey.

The plate was ordered and designed even before little Joey arrived on this earth and I was given some specific ideas to include - the parents wonderful menagerie of animals!

First up was Poppy the black lurcher puppy with a whole heap of energy, and here he is carrying the baby's name banner. There's some poppies in the background to reflect him too.

The parents have a mini farm going on at their house, including 3 Aylesbury ducks who are apparently inseparable from each other - always doing the same things together, including bathing themselves in their very own paddling pool!

  

 The final animals to be included are 2 chickens who are called Robin and Percy after the Arsenal footballer Robin van Persie - here they are having a kick about in their red football strips!

 So recently the little one was born and I could finish the design with his details and get it sent off to the unsuspecting parents. The feedback was really humbling, apparently they said they would 'treasure it forever' what a lovely thought!

So thanks so much to (grandma) Liz for deciding to order with me and helping me get the best composition too.

Do get in contact if you can think of a custom design you might like, I can design an original plate for you for £45.

The Little Peach xx

Alphabetty Spaghetti!

Hello Peachy Folk! How are you this fine Autumnal week? I'm sitting under a blanket as I type this and and chuffed to announce a brand new product in the lill ol peach shoppe - Alphabet Initial Plates!

I do love making plates...it's a lost art form that I am striving to reinvent and these plates are perfect for both those young and young at heart! You can get one for your lovely friend or order two for a special couple (and we will send you a free ampersand so they can display them together!)

The font is hand drawn by yours truly and has a vintage circus style, with spangly stars and added screen print marks. There's a whole bunch of colours to choose from or you can ask for your own colour scheme to match a room if you'd like.

I'm planning on developing a few different font styles so keep checking back for more, and do suggest styles you think you'd like to see!

I used to opportunity to make an 'E' and an 'I' for the lovely little girls known as Phil's kiddies and will post an update when we hang them up in their room.

Here's the whole alphabet for your perusal:

You can buy them through my shop, Etsy or Not on the High Street and they are £25 including free postage to the UK.

The Little Peach xx

Playing at Illustrator

Yesterday I got lost down the rabbit hole that often happens when I ask the question 'hmmm I wonder how you do that in Illustrator?'

I didn't study Illustration at University, instead going for the widest umbrella possible aka 'Fine Art' where we were basically left to our own devices and could come up with any old crap work we liked.

Looking back now I can see that studying Illustration would have been a much better option for me, as most of what I came up with during those years was illustration. I used to draw and paint images all over furniture, walls, paper...anything I could get my hands on really. The tutors would always squawk 'but what does it mean' and I would always default with 'but I just like the way it looks'. I still have that mantra to be honest.

Anyway....university and all its adventures is for another day, back with the story...

So yes, as a self-taught illustrator I have learnt most design packages on a 'I-need-to-know-that-bit-right-now' basis. I'm pretty good at Photoshop (although new things making themselves apparent to me and I'm suddenly like 'AH MAN...why did I not know that sooner?!) and in the last year or so have mastered more of Illustrator.

I always start my drawings by sketching them out with a pencil (there is no substitute for a trusty HB) then usually develop and split them into their colours for printing like this too. Photoshop and Illustrator are mainly a means-to-an-end tidy up and to make them super black for exposing.

Well yesterday I set myself the task of drawing it completely on Illustrator and after so internet tutorial trawling (I love you internet) here is the result...

A snowy house! What do you think?

Underneath is the original sketch, it's for a super exciting charity print that I'm been working on recently, I'll share more details when I can.

I don't think I'll ever stop drawing the way I always do, as I think it's important to actually make a touched-by-me mark on your work, but working this way will be helpful, especially when splitting the colours down for printing - see how easy it is?

Turquoise....

...and Purple!

I'd also definitely recommend checking out Lynda.com to anyone wanting to teach themselves any package. They have 1000's of step by step video tutorials, laid out in series such as 'The basics of Web Design on Dreamweaver' or 'How to draw in Illustrator' It costs a monthly subscription but it's well worth it.

The Little Peach xx