Haven't done a blog in far too long! .... 8 months apparently.
I have been pretty lazy to be honest. A lot of things going on, and not really going on. So I guess I will try my best to give you just the highlights over the last 8 months.

Back In September I discovered that my Redbubble account (my shop) seemed to be slowly picking up so traction. I have made a few more sales that I was completely unaware of. YAY people want to pay me to do arty things!!!

This gave me a bit of a kick up the arse. To try and get back into the way of things. Yes I know I sound like a broken record! 

Since then I now have my own desk set up at home with everything set up and ready to go. I have been researching local artist and looking at so many things. Pinterest is a wonderfully handy tool. I have even started a new sketch book. As if I didn't have enough...

So for a bit of the boring stuff. Since moving in to my house I have been pretending to be a really good cook. I have even been baking! Even using the pears out of my own garden!

I more or less stole these from my Instagram, As you can see I have been doing a lot of baking and a lot of eating. In the last 8 months. 

I have recently made a few very big decisions. I have decided to take the plunge and I have opened my own Etsy store: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/CraicinDesigns
At the moment I only have 1 listing. I am still working on a few other things. The listing that is currently up allows for a custom portrait or action scene. Such as previous ones I have created below. 

Almost all of these little prints you have seen before but one of them is new.

So one of my good friends, will randomly call me up every so often asking for unique birthday, and engagement gifts. Usually everything he asks me for is themed. Breaking Bad, Fight Club, Jurassic Park. So just when I thought he could shock me. He asked for the above to be made.

Just to clarify what the above is. One of his friends took his girlfriend to New York and proposed to her in Central Park. He sent me a photo of the magical moment, when he popped the question. Then asked could I draw the groom-to-be as Venkman from ghost busters, and the bride-to-be as Miss Piggy from The Muppet's.....

So I did what every artist does and just created what my client asked me for. While the whole time thinking he is totally mental.I have to admit still an awful lot I am not happy with within the image. It took me a week alone to do the New York skyline and trees in Central Park.

So yes. I take completely random requests!

I have also been experimenting with a few others. Here is a little sneek peak:  

none of the above is finished!

It's all just a starting point for me looking into different ways of designing posters for bands, Looking into more detailed patterns, looking into more detail of machines and devices. I am also experimenting with the idea of inspirational quotes and the idea of creating a scene or back ground that is just as powerful as the quote.

So It's all happening. Slowly, but surely. I have also been getting back into designing some wedding stationery. I currently have three brides, which is fantastic! one who continuity changes her mind. however it can sometimes be frustrating. I am getting more design trials done and these can be used for perhaps other clients down the road.

I am trying to keep a positive spin on things. That's all from me, I will try to get back into writing a blog at the end/beginning of every month.

So! Long time no post.... Whoops. So yea.... Biggest news first I suppose and then I will probably ramble as I do usually...

So for people who follow me on Instagram, you will more than likely already know. So Pete and I are officially new home owners! We are moved in and everything! 

For those of you that don't have me on Instagram, here are a few images that I have posted in the last month about our adventures and moving in. Clearly I have been so busy I haven't really had time to put up many.
So first image is Pete literally picking up the keys to our new gaff. I was proper raging, as he got out of work early and I still had to stay in until 5. He at least waited for me before going to the house. 2nd image is the first neighbor we met, very nosy! we later found out that this fluffy high member of the neighbor hood watch is called buster.
3rd is just us "Getting our ducks in a row" figuring out whats what.

I have to admit the first few weeks since moving in, I still feel as though I am house sitting. I have just decided to move all my crap here and try to invoke squatting rights. I am told this is normal though. It's all still very new and strange, I am sure a few people reading this are thinking I am mental.... cheers!

I have even been getting into gardening as we have an amazing little garden here, previous owner kindly left us all her amazing plants, we have apple and pear trees. Blueberry, blackberry, gooseberries, strawberries, raspberries and  any other berry plant. Tomatoes and loads of herbs, still haven't gotten round to weeding everything..... It's still on the very large to do list.

Here's a couple of photos of our pear and apple trees. We have also had a few visitors of the four legged fluffy kind to our little garden........ And because I have nothing else to do with my time and we haven't yet been told what their names are. We have named them! so on the bottom right we have Toothless, the middle image is of Gandalf (because he's grey) and Charlie.... cause of the mustache.... yea...... and well you guys already know Valentino. He crawled in the back of our nephews pram and decided it was his new home.... Couldn't resist not putting him up. 

​So enough about my wee hoouse. Work wise, things kind of took a turn for the worst. Literally the week we were going to sign for the house, I was moved from being in house designer to dispatch... Basically the company I work for is incredibly small only 6 of us working there and basically they wanted more support for the actual printing team and basically shuffled everyone's jobs about.

From the company point of view I honestly think it was the right thing to do. It makes total sense. From my point of view, I was completely devastated.

​A lot of people thought I was being a bit over dramatic about the change. I honestly cried for days after it happened, I just felt like I could finally be one of those.....

.....Who say they love their job and everyone pretty much hates....
I was finally doing a job I enjoyed, I had free rein and I actually enjoyed going to work. I even felt like a woman scorned and seriously contemplated walking out.
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But being an adult and suddenly having a mortgage, mind over heart won.

Not the everything is as doom and gloom as I make it sound. I have to admit though (not that I have been doing my new role long) It really isn't all that bad. I still really miss doing design, its on my mind all the time. I am still from time to time asked to do a few things for customers design wise. We even got a big new sexy machine in work. We are now able to do spot UV and foiling. 

I have even been asked to design a marketing card for the company to use, to send out and show off what we are now able to do on top of everything else. However, after today I feel like the excitement for that was short lived. Due to with my new role I don't really have to much time to do anything mind blowing. I am pretty sure my boss got too excited and ended up just stealing images off google..... 

BUT! now that we have our own place I feel that I was just practicing and getting back into the way of things with using Photoshop and Illustrator. I plan to keep it going whether I am designing on commission or just doing arty farty things for myself. I may continue down the path of wedding stationery, I am not too sure. 

Either way I don't plan to give it up and I feel that after leaving university and having a bit of a fall out with all things arty is finally over. I want to do it all the time, I want to get better at it and I want to keep exploring and practicing. Just doing loads of different things. So I am still getting my office sorted in me hoouse, but I am hoping by the end of this month I will have everything semi set up. 

Plus now that my company has this new toy, I am hoping to maybe get new business cards done. As I very cleverly, locked myself out of my arty email address.... NIIIIIIIIICCCCCCCEEE!

so yea, I finally got a few of my designs that I did design for work. Here are a few of them. Hope you like them. 

The only other piece of design I have really done lately that isn't work related was making a cheesy poster for my partner. Yesterday was our 6 year anniversary.... Scarily all grown up now and proper with having a house together. I decided to make something for the house and for him. It was a song that we were pretty into when we first met and were getting to know each other. So yea... I guess you could call it "our song". (Slightly want to throw up with all the cheesiness). Anyways here is the poster I made 

So yea... that's all from me this month, here's hoping next month is as fun packed!

So, as I said in Febuary i was very unlikely to make a post in March. Due to being in Sand stormy Las Vegas!.... whooooo

The above picture was from our hotel room. Totally amazing place, I would go back. Of course when we were there, as i breifly mentioned earlier. Las vegas experianced the worst sand storm they had seen in 15 years..... our timing was great.

​We were in Walmart when it first hit, lights and everything cut off... just as we were scanning our beer through too.... tipical.

By the time this picture was taken, the back up generators had literally just kicked it. So, imagen this photo a lot darker lol.

We of course did all the touristy stuff. Grand canyon, hoover dam, Zion and of course the casions and the strip.

AND.... the gun range. Have to admit I had never shot a gun before, even broke a nail on the recoil from the first gun I shot. Didnt stop me though, was surprisingly a lot of fun.

so enough about my holiday. I have also just been super busy! I was commissioned to make up a hilarious poster. Fart club.

The above image is my final design. I had a lot of fun making this, I am a huge fan of the movie! So this was just great to do something related. Even if it is a parody.

I had also been asked to redesign my works website. I have to admit, i hate web design. I gave it my best shot. With to be honest not much details on the way the design of the website was wanted. Sometimes it can be a blessing or a curse. However I did find it very difficult, got there in the end. However at the moment I dont have any permission to share the screen shots. Possibly next month.

I have also been getting stuck into my wedding stationery. A little more so now that one of my best friends has just gotten engaged.

Congrats to Johnny and Megan! 
I have also been continuing on my venture of house hunting with my partner. That to be honest has taken up most of my time these days. Anyways, until next time....

So first of all, Happy new year!
I realize I didn't put a post up in December. Mainly because I had done nothing, unfortunately this month is the same. I have just been working away and laughing at cat videos.

Last time I blogged I had spoken about getting a new toy. I am still waiting on it!

I will get it eventually though. 

Look at that DAMN SEXINESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am getting back in the way of drawing and it seems like forever since I had a sketch book, so I am kicking myself in the bum. I have been pretty boring lately, I have even taken major steps in becoming an adult, I am starting to learn to drive and even getting a mortgage..... yay.....

So yea, I promise to be more exciting in the next short month. I may even have real images of what I have been getting up to and such. This is just me checking in and letting you know I'm still alive!

I haven't really done anything this month... I have more or less just been planning. I have been working away on my dinosaur wedding invitations that I spoke about last month. At the moment I am just having a geek moment, playing with typography. I have also been looking into the more specifics of the wording used and I came across this beauty;

I'm sure this is an oldy, but I honestly laughed my head off when I saw this. As my wedding invitations are just novelty. You can expect a simiar tone of whimsicalness.

Minus my dinosaur novelty wedding invitations. I have also redesigned some business cards and made a gift voucher. I have to admit I have never made a gift voucher before, which wasn't difficult. However due to my client wanting the design to match her business card, I found it a bit challenging.  

I however think I got this to work. The business cards I created are a lot plainer. Having a simple white background with my client’s logo on the side. As shown below (I have removed clients information, hence why there is so much white)

This also just the back of the new cards. My client wanted some space to actually write details on the card. The gift voucher also has a back with simply "To" and "From".

This pretty much all I have done this month. I am planning on buying a new toy to help with creating more art on the go. My christmas present to me, from me. The Surface Pro 4, I hopefully will get this toy before christmas.

SO EXCITED!!!!!!

I'd also like to take this moment to congratulate Morgan and Ashleigh on the birth of their baby boy today Jacques.

That's all from me, I guess we start getting christmasie

Little bit late with this months blog. I blame Halloween being way too awesome!

So I have actually been up to a lot of stuff this month, not only designing new random things, but...... yea you know what that is basically all I have been doing. So first thing, I am a huge fan of Rock n Roll Bride. and after seeing a photo from their facebook page. I decided to create something a little different.

You may or may not have seen this clue on my Instagram. (little bit of back story) I'm currently working at a printing company, we print a lot of designs for wedding stationery designers soooooooooooooo I thought I'd try my hand at it and after seeing the below picture from the Rock n Roll Bride magazine.  

So you've probably guessed it by now. I made dinosaur themed wedding invitations. Now I haven't yet finished it entirely but you get the idea 

SOOOOOOOOOO MUCH FUN MAKING THIS!!!

So yea hoping this month I will be able to get this finished as well as a few other designs I noticed I started and just due to life I haven't managed to get back to finish. So that is my goal for this month. 

So for Halloween I did a few different things.  

I went to the Crumblin Road Gaol paranormal tour in Belfast. I have to say I didn't see any ghosties, but it was.... interesting, but I have to admit it made me really want to do the actual tour. The most eerie thing that happened on the tour, and also turned out to be the funniest thing. We were standing in the hanging room where they had hung 15 of the 17 men to have been executed at the Gaol (I hope I remembered my numbers right) and when the tour guide began to call upon the last man who had been executed, the whole room fell silent waiting for any noise, any chance of a sign from beyond the grave. All we could hear was an ice cream truck's cheery music about a mile away from the gaol.

Of course there was also pumpkins to be had...... many many pumpkins

I basically sat the rest of Halloween carving pumpkins and watching scary movies. Speaking of scary movies, I even went to see John Carpenter's The Fog in the Barge in Belfast last night. I had never actually seen the movie before, I though it was pretty good. I think I more enjoyed going with my mates though and the atmosphere that was carefully created. 

Back to Dinosaurs!
I unfortunately I was unable to make it to a baby shower this month due to going to see Alien Ant Farm in the Empire in Belfast and pretending to be 15 again..... oops. However I was still asked to design a baby bib.... So I created a dinosaur wearing ox blood red DM boots, with the world ending and aliens coming down to save the dinosaurs........

I'm totally sane........ kinda.
Em..... I think that's really it for this month. literally a lot of dinosaur things and pumpkin carving. Hoping to keep this month just as mad, and as I said earlier hoping to slightly back track and have another look at designs I started a little while ago and just finish them off. 

Also want to wish my partner another Happy Birthday :D
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So this month I actually did stuff, not as much as I would have liked but I have definitely done more. So I have been trying to really get back into my design, have actually been revisiting old work. I have also been experimenting a little bit

So not too sure if you will recognize any of the above. These are from my British classic design project from university a variation of originals shown below and you can also find them in my store:

Annnnnnnnd..... speaking of store, I added 4 of my multi coloured images to my shop, mainly cause I'm still not too happy with 2 of them here is a little snap of what I have added:

I also looked back a little to my think happy thoughts t-shirt. I tweaked it a little bit, I changed some of the colours round, I'm still not happy with it. I may even just re-draw the whole thing.

Before and After, I wanted to make it a little more warmer and I don't know why, but the moutashe colour was annoying me. I felt it had to be a closer colour to the unicorns natural hair colour. Yup.

As I said though I am still not too happy with it, I want to go back and play more with highlights and shadows, or as I said previously just start the drawing again from scratch.

I also went on holiday this month to Portugal.  Literally the first time I have been out of the UK and Ireland in 9 years. It was stunning.

I had a fantastic time, cool beer, hot weather and blue skies. I couldn't ask for anything more. I only wish I had gotten more photos. 

My partner and I are even starting to plan our next holiday to Vegas baby! which should be good. This month I plan on just continuing to design more things, I have realised my portfolio is seriously lacking in so many elements. So I am planning to fix that. I also have more work lined up in the form of labels for some local products. All negotiations are still on going so I can't really talk much about it at the moment, but I am very excited. That's all from me for this month. 

So guys, sorry to disappoint, I have pretty much......done nothing this month. I haven't really gotten around to designing anything. I have just been adjusting to my new job and chilling out really. I have gone to a few things at a local festival. Our open house festival. I saw the Foghorn string band all the way from Portland Oregon. I also went to see Punk in the Park, where some local punk bands played. I even got my face in the paper.... TWICE! 

On the Left here is the foghorn string band. (worst photo ever) It was a really good gig, a little bit of a different genera than what I would usually listen to but they were so good to see live and really chilled people. 

On the right it'a few photos from punk in the park. I went with my brother and our dogs Louis and Sophie. It was again a really good gig. the turn out was awesome and the bands were great!

And the picture that got put in my local paper.... not once.... but twice!

Other than going to the local gigs in my area I also have been doing a bit of harvesting. As well as possibly...... becoming an alcoholic 

This year the birds actually got bored with plums, so we were able to harvest them. So much so that we are making our own plum cider and plum brandy. 

Here is the cider doing it's thing! I will however be designing the labels for these when they are ready to be bottled and hopefully not killing anyone with alcohol poisoning.

I've also been celebrating 5 years with my partner. Ill save you all the lovey dovey stuff.So yea, this is pretty much what I've been doing this month, Also hoping to get back into the workshop to finish things off.

Heres some random cars and cats I made for my partner. and below and random cat that genuinely keeps breaking into his house.

.....we call him stevie.

So this month a lot has been going on, I have finished my flyers for M Mahood Music, I've done a few more buggy designs, I've finished my silversmiths course, I've just come back from Glastonbury, and I've even accepted a new job offer.......yep!
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So this year at Glastonbury was my 3rd year in a row. 

Between sleeping under tables on the ferry, the traffic getting into Glastonbury and the mud. I have admit, I am thinking of going elsewhere next year. I have always loved going to Glastonbury, but this year I just wasn't feeling it. Talk about a work out just going to the toilet or even getting food. It was a bit of a nightmare..... DAMN YOU MUD! Music was however fantastic as always! here's a few other pics from the festival.

So here's the two main designs I created for M Mahood Music:

I'm proud of these and I do feel they reflect and flow in with the logo that I had previously created. Plus I have a very happy client. Please visit and like their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MMahoodMusic/?fref=ts

I have also continued on with making some bug patterns, last month they were winged, this month I have been doing more beetles.

I am continuing on with these designs and I am hoping to have these all finished and added to my red bubble shop by the end of July. shop: http://www.redbubble.com/people/kerriestuff

I also mentioned that my silversmithing course has ended. I have decided that this is definitely an art form I am wanting to continue with and experiment with. In my last few weeks I began to experiment with enameling copper.   

So using greens, browns and even blacks we experimented with the leaf shaped copper. Although the kiln wasn't hot enough, giving the enamel this bumpy bubbly effect. I feel it really works with the piece and definitely adds texture to the piece. 2nd image here was actually the first pieces I enameled, I put Rose Pink on both pieces and due to the position in the kiln, I managed to get the top one the lightest and the bottom a lot darker. I really love how this worked out, I am planning to turn this into a necklace.
The 3rd and 4th images are of an only bit of scrap metal I had been experimenting with. I had talked about it in a previous blog, I just threaded wire through, and then put silver enamel on the copper. It gave the copper this really amazing look, again planning on turning this into a necklace. Here is the original piece before threading copper and brass wire through: 

On my last night of my course, I started to make little rabbits. I have to admit it was mainly due to finding other little copper rabbits in my scrap box and getting this song stuck in my head:

My little scrap bunny. So I started making my own little bunnies in hope of enameling them white:

these also really make me laugh, I made a skinny rabbit and a curvy one, keeping up with beauty standards. So yea, didn't get these quite finished but I am thinking about doing a bit more with the white rabbit theme. That's it really when it comes to the metal work stuff I have been doing lately. I am still experimenting away with other things. Although at the moment the workshop space that I use is being moved. So it's putting a little bit of a pause on things.

I also mentioned I have accepted a new job offer, I will be working with a graphic design company, starting in July. I've incredibly nervous about the whole thing but, it's a new venture, so we'll see how it goes. Catch you guys next time.

A LOT HAS HAPPENED THIS MONTH!
So, where to start. Logo design for M Mahood Music is done, currently still designing flyers but I am incredibly happy with the outcome, even my client is over the moon with it! Which is the most important thing!

Hopefully my watermark isn't too over powering. But yea, this is what we came up with in the end.  Very impressed it I don't say so myself ;) created using Illustrator and Photoshop. 

Here's a few of the logos that I played around with, before coming to the final:

As you can see some a lot better than others. But there are many different stages that you go through when designing a logo. I had a lot of fun doing this! 

My Silversmithing course, has been very off and on, as I am getting to the stage where, to be honest I don't feel like I'm learning. I have noticed there is a huge difference from being at university and doing a part time course. If you basically showed interest in learning a technique and asked tutors in university, or if it was a tutors specialism. They got super excited and were pretty much awesome with showing you how it worked.

So yea, I am getting to the point that YouTube is probably a better educator that any college or university, as well as cheaper! Which is a bit of a shame, but at the same time, it has made me hungry for knowledge! I've recently been experimenting with copper. Actually been very impressed with all the amazing colours and although I'm kind of doing it to waste time, I’m actually learning a lot from it:

The above is just little pieces I have been experimenting with. Still lots of other stuff I want to experiment with but I have to admit, even experimenting with the different colours that come from the copper. Is amazing, and all I am doing is applying heat in different areas and even experimenting by heating the metal through other pieces of metals.
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It’s all still very small stuff, but I am starting to think about making sculptures, so who knows my next course could be a wielding course, or my YouTube will be full of wielding videos.


I've also been doing more patterns, I have already started my 2nd in the series. I haven't yet put these up on my red bubble, as I am wanting to have at least 3-4 different series of patterns before I do, so here's the first it all it's different variations of glory!

So that's basically what I've been up to this month, I have to admit June may be a bit slow as I am mainly just finishing off work and continuing to experiment with metal work. But I am also off to Glastonbury! So I shall also be putting up lots of pictures of that when I get back, But I think I will do my June blog before I leave for Glastonbury, we will see.

Thanks guys for stopping by, keep your eyes peeled for more pattern designs coming soon and more experiments. Please follow me on Instagram, as I am aiming to try and start posting more things on there!