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SHOP NEWS!

Just want to let you know that i am away on holiday until the 2nd June so any orders placed online will be posted on Monday 3rd June when i return – sorry about this, can’t seem to put a notice up in my shop so on the blog it is! instead you can have a little look at some of this months images on Instagram!

Papercuts

Sorry to have been a little quiet on the blog front of late – life is as busy as always. We are moving out of our apartment soon to undertake some renovation works and although i am really excited about what we are doing to the place the amount of organising and planning involved is exhausting!  In the meantime i thought i would show you a couple of commissions i have done recently.

The first commission i want to show you was a wedding present from the best man to the bride and groom. They got married at Blair Atholl castle (a beautiful place) and asked if i could create a paper cut that captured the castle and some small details about the couple (the groom was welsh – so included where some daffodils and the bride was Scottish so we had some thistles too).

The second commission was from a husband to his wife as an anniversary present, based around a poem she had written when her children were little, it was a touching and deeply personal commission and was lovey to do. I especially like the sunflowers – might do some more of them in future works!

Here are a few close ups ……………..

Lynsey & Iain

A couple of weeks ago we attended one of my dearest friends weddings and it was magical. The sun was shining, friends caught up and the bride and groom looked breathtaking! I was lucky enough to help them design their stationery for the day and i had so much fun doing it. They wanted a Spanish lace style to the design so this is what i came up with …

I haven’t managed to photograph the actual invites themselves yet but for the meantime here is a screen shot – you get the idea. The main invite was a gate fold design and the info card and RSVP postcard where held inside by a beautiful red ribbon. The design also carried through to the day being used on the order of service’s and on the table names too.

I also created a little papercut for the happy couple to remember their special day …

It truly was a magical day! You can see more images of the wedding over on Julie Tinton’s blog. Photo of the couple below is by Julie Tinton photography and the cake was designed by Heather’s cakes with a nod to my design.

P.S Our little Maggie attended with us and she looked so sweet all dressed up that i just had to show you a little image of her too! x

Papercut commissions

The sun is shining here in Edinburgh today and Maggie, Mary and I are meeting up with some friends and heading to the beach this afternoon but before we head off for an early weekend i thought i would share with you some of the recent papercut commissions i have done, it’s not all play and no work around here!

Creating papercut commissions is definitely one of my favorite parts of this job – creating artwork that is so unique to each client and normally celebrating a special time in their lives – birthdays, weddings, and births. I love finding out all the special details of people lives and then bring them together to create something special. I know that i have had to dissapoint a few of you as i can only take on so much – but i try my best to squeeze in as many commissions as i can.

Below are a few images of some of the recent ones i have done celebrating weddings and the babies and some hens for a special birthday. xx

Family Holiday

We have just returned from our very first family holiday together and are feeling rested and relaxed – i am sure it won’t last but right now it feels great. We had a very pleasant week up north in the Cairngorm national park enjoying what Scotland has to offer and thoroughly enjoy the fresh air. I thought you might like to see a few of our family snaps – you won’t think it was mid-April from the photos but we did have a lovely time! x

New Exhibition

Happy 1st April everyone! I am very much hoping that this means we can finally say goodbye to the snow and welcome the sun back into our lives. In the meantime you can always go and visit my new exhibition! A collection of 30 framed papercuts and screen prints all situated in the beautiful Watermill Gallery in Aberfeldy.  It runs until the 21st May so plenty of time to get yourselves up there!

I would also like to introduce you to my new online outlet – Papa Stour! They have a lovely site that sells wonderful work from Scottish artists and designers. You can check them out here. On the subject of online shops i will be shutting my Not On the High Street Shop, Etsy store and my shop on my website for the month of April. We are taking our first family holiday with Maggie, attending a very special friends wedding and working on some other projects so need a bit of time off. I hope you will understand. If you need anything please visit my outlets page on my website so you can find somewhere to buy my work.

Also one last thing, my little Mary was chosen as one of the lovely 25 top pets on the Design Sponge website (out of 7,500 pets) so proud of her! If you haven’t heard of it Design Sponge is an amazing blog based in the U.S that showcases new design from all over the world. Definitely worth checking out!

Happy April everyone! xx

Recent Goings On

It has been pretty busy round here recently – a lot of work has been happening and Maggie is getting bigger by the day! Just wanted to show you some of my most recent work. Over Christmas i was approached by i-marker in Hong Kong to produce a design for their Chinese new year ‘red packets’. If you don’t know about Chinese new year it was celebrated on Feb 10th 2013 and it is tradition to give out red packets filled with money to children to wish them good luck and happiness in the year ahead. This year i-marker gave all their partners and employees these red packets with my designs on them. Was great to work on something quite different for a change – hope you like them!

I also was recently approached by a lovely lady who had recently seen my papercutting book and wondered if i could help her. Every year her children’s primary school organise a 10k run in rural somerset. She had been looking for a design to print on the t-shirts to sell at the event and raise money and came across my ‘March Hare’. She said ‘Your design perfectly encompasses our event; we have many wild hares living in the countryside around us and of course they are the perfect symbol for the run’ – how could i not help out! I would like to wish them all the best of luck with their event and if you are in the somerset area or would just like to find out more you can visit their website: www.hemington10k.org

And just to finish here are some of my recent Instagrm images of what has been going on in my life – lots of baby snaps and of course a few of Mary! Hope you guys are all well! x

Logo designs and Life

Hello! I can’t believe we are welcoming in March this morning – the year has flown by so fast already. Well Feb has indeed been a busy month, working on commissions (will show later), some interesting corporate jobs (more on the to come) and of course my own work. There was a lot of baking, dog walking and crafting (Maggie’s quilt is a good 3rd done now) and welcoming the sun back into our lives! Just wanted to welcome March in and show you some of the things i have been up to through my instagram photos.

I also wanted to share with you this Logo design i have done for the wonderful Audrey Birt – she is a dear friend of ours and a beautiful person inside and out and i loved working with her on her new venture, helping her create a logo and brand identity. Her website is now up and running and she also writes a very good blog if you are interested you can check them out here: Audreybirt.com and audreybirt.blogspot.co.uk Well done Audrey!! x

The sun came out to play

Finally the sun came out to play!! The snow has left Edinburgh and although still very cold it was so lovely to finally see the sunshine making an appearance again. With it being so beautiful we went down to the beach, walked the dog and even managed to enjoy a pub lunch too (with Mary and Maggie)! A proper Saturday no work and all play! x

New Book – ‘Cut Up This Book – Special Occassions’

It was an exciting week last week in the studio with the arrival of my new book!! This book is very much a sequel to my first papercut book; Cut up this book! which has been doing really well and is now available in; English, Finish, Swedish, German, Dutch, French, Italian, Czech, Spanish, Japanese, Estonian and Danish.

So this book is in the same style, explaining papercutting technique and filled with 25 new paper cutting projects for parties and celebrations. The book also includes over 50 new templates that can be cut straight out of the book! This book isn’t available until the late spring/early summer but as soon as it is out i will let you all know!!

Now this book kept me on my toes last year – finishing it just 3 weeks after the birth of our daughter Maggie. The team at Quarto publishing were so great and helped me loads in getting everything finished so a big thank you to them! I wouldn’t recommend going over final spreads of a book in the hospital days after your baby is born but there is sometimes no rest for the wicked – or me! All the hard work feels worth it now that i have the physical book in my hands – might start reading it to Maggie as a bedtime story (might send her to sleep if nothing else!!) x

Winter Wonderland

As I sit and write this there is a blizzard blowing outside and it is feeling very wintry here in Edinburgh. Although cold I must admit that i do love the snow and what it does to our landscape around us – it truly makes everything look very magical. I ventured out with my new camera and snapped some snowy shots (below) – I still need some practice to get used to my new camera but the snow certainly is a nice practice subject. I have also started my children’s book! So happy to finally be putting words to paper and starting to think about images and what i would like to include. Hope you have had a good week too!

Happy New Year!

Happy New year everyone!

I have been trying to sit down and write this blog post for the last week but little Maggie wouldn’t allow it! So finally I am here finishing my new year wishes to you all and chatting about my plans for the year ahead! As most of you know little Maggie joined us in October 2012 and since life has been pretty hectic. This has meant It has meant  that my blog and website have been slightly neglected – which I am resolving now! Now that life is beginning to settle into a rough routine again i wanted to make some plans for the year ahead and get my creative hat back on.

I have never really been one for new year resolutions but I do like the idea of having my year’s to-do list, more the things I would like to achieve than a resolution if you know what I mean. I thought I would share them with you.

1. Renovate the house – this we started before Maggie was born but we only got half way before she arrived so we are on a mission to try and get the place sorted out by the end of the year!

2. Take more photos – I have recently bought myself a new camera and I would really like to learn how to use it properly and try out lots of new things! I will be playing around with it lots and sharing my photos on this blog!

3. Do more crafts! I have been working on a quilt for Maggie for quite some time and I am determined to finish it this year! I also would like to learn how to knit! I am lucky enough to still have my grandmother in my life and she knitted lost of cardigans, hats and blankets for Maggie when she was born. So I have a good teacher.

4. Books – This is the big one for me. I have been wanting to write and illustrate a children’s book forever and i have decided this is the year to start! I am not taking on any more client work until Aug and spending my time developing my book instead. I am going to document the process and share it with you and hopefully publish the book at the end! It is so exciting to finally be able to step back from client work and finally get to concentrate on a self motivated project. This means I will not be taking on any more commissions this year but i hope you understand. Plus i have 3 exhibitions already lined up for the year so there will be lots to see.

5. Communicate more – blogging, facebook, twitter, pinterest and instagram. I have recently found that social networks are  really great way of staying in contact with like minded individuals as well as a great source of inspiration. If yo want to know more about me and my work/life then please follow me on one or all of the above social media’s. Below is a snap shot of images taken on instagram.

So for the time being I wish you all a very happy new year and I look forward to sharing 2013′s adventures with you. xx

Merry Christmas

Thank you all for supporting us this year! It certainly has been busy and we have enjoyed every minute. So just wanted to wish you all a wonderful time over the festive season!

Love Emily xx

Christmas Open Studios 2012

It is that time of year again where we open our studios doors and let you come and see what we do where we do it! It is also a great place to find some amazing unique Christmas gifts too! You can find out more about the studios and the artists on the website here.

Hope to see you there for some festive fun!

Roseleaf Exhibition Nov-Dec 2012

As the days grow darker and colder i can think of nothing better to do than head to a great cosy bar and have some heart warming food and amazing drinks! Such a place exists in the form of the Roseleaf in leith, Edinburgh. To make your stay there even more merry you can also have a look at some of my work! The Roseleaf will be exhibiting 14 of my artworks on their lovely walls for November and December 2012! You can find out more info about the Roseleaf on their facebook page here. Hope you can make it down and aybe while there even enjoy a little cocktail in a teapot – a potail! x

Wildflower Florists

Just wanted to show you some designs i recently did for ‘Wildflower Florists‘ in the Renfrewshire area, Glasgow! They are a lovely  new company and create beautiful floral arrangements for all occasions! I wish them all the best with their new business! More info about them can be found on their facebook page here.

Introducing Maggie!

Well things have been a little quite around here recently and my apologies for that – but i have good reason! On the 3rd Oct i gave birth to Maggie Eleanor – she surprised us all and arrived 5 weeks early! Desperate to get out into the world. My husband and I are over the moon and so excited to welcome her to our little family! x x x

Christmas 2012

Well the weather has definitely turned here in Edinburgh and it is feeling much more wintery. So i thought you might like to see a little sneak peek of my new Christmas 2012 range. There will be four new cards, two new wrapping papers and a little winter print!

Will be launched in 2 weeks! Come back then to see the full range! xx

September Giveaway – WINNERS!

After a hugely successful September Giveaway with over 500 entries we have our winners! Thank you to everyone who entered was lovely to read all your comments and a huge CONGRATULATIONS to our lucky winners! Well done! You can read all the comments on our facebook page here.

September Giveaway!

SEPTEMBER GIVEAWAY!

After a friend recently had a clear out and gave me some lovely things I thought that i would do the same in my studio! I often have 2nd edition prints that are 98% perfect but have a small flaw somewhere so i can’t give them to galleries. So i thought some of you might like them instead! They are all signed, numbered and titled.

To be in with a chance to win simply head over to my facebook page and LIKE the September giveaway photo, leave a comment letting em know which print is your favorite and then click on the ‘SHARE’ button – simple!

This giveaway is open to everyone – UK based and INTERNATIONAL so take part! and is open until Monday 17th September.

Head over to my facebook page here.

Commissions

I have been beavering away making paper cut commission for the last couple of months and thought it was about time I started uploading some to show you all. Above are a few of the ones i have recently completed. It is always great doing these sort of commissions and hearing all the lovely stories about peoples lives. Then i get to put all these personal tales together to create a paper cut that is truly unique for its recipient and full of fun and loving memories. I even created a couple of Highland cows recently and managed to place the couple’s initials in the leafy foliage. More photos of these commissions and of lots more  I have recently done can be found here on my commission pages.

Edinburgh International Book Festival

Well it is that time of year again in Edinburgh where the city comes alive with festival goings on! This year i thought i would share a few of my thoughts on the festivals. Starting with one of my very favorite – The Edinburgh International Book Festival. I have always loved wondering around Charlotte Square in August surrounded by books, people reading them, talking about them, writing them and maybe evening buying one or two and this year is no different. With a whole host of talks and events to see, it is sometimes hard to know where to start – for me it is always the children’s section. As an illustrator i have always loved seeing how other illustrators work and there is no better place than walking into a children’s book shop. So many beautiful illustrations within the pages of books!

This year i went along to see Writer Vivian French and author-illustrator Sue Heap talk about their new new series of six picture books all about the Buttons family. The event was aimed at children and introducing them to books and it was done brilliantly. Vivian was animated and sang songs, told stories and made the books exciting for the children while Sue drew beautiful illustrations, complimenting the tales and introducing the audience to the characters. It was great to see so many little people excited about books and reading. The Edinburgh international Book festival has a fantastic selection of interactive events for children of all ages to really get them involved and excited about books and they do this very well. With just over a week left there is still plenty to go and see so enjoy!

Loads more information about whats going on during the festival can be found on the Clicket website – check it out for honest, fun reviews! x

I also have to comment on the fab deck chairs the book festival has this year! Each with a quote from an author that is appearing at the book festival – so keep your eyes peeled for them too!

Open Studios

Well another Open studios has come and gone and once again it was a great success. Thanks to everyone who came along – hope you enjoyed seeing our working studios and maybe even left with a little something for yourself too. For those of you who didn’t make it down I thought I would share with you some photos of my studio – looking much tidier than it normaly does. Next open studios will be in the beginning of December. Should be an interesting one as i’ll have a little baby less than a month old!

Introducing Amy

I’d like to introduce you all to my new lovely assistant, Amy.  She has been working with me for the past few weeks and has just returned from a holiday in the U.S. where she was visiting family and friends.  Glad to have her back!

*Hello All!  This is Amy and it’s brilliant to be a part of what Emily has created!  I had a great, sunny trip and now back to work; I’m looking forward to sharing what we’re up to here in the Studio!  It’s been a busy few weeks while Emily has been working on the original paper cuts and screen prints for the Robert Burns exhibition and we’ve been getting the studio ready for the Open Studios this weekend!  Hope to see you all there!

Here is a picture of me choosing a watermelon in Mississippi!

Robert Burns Exhibition

A little peek at some of the work you will see at my exhibition of new work being held at Homer in Edinburgh. Hope this will entice you to come along and see the rest!

Robert Burns Exhibition: The Birks of Aberfeldy

Exhibition of my new work opens next week! Hope some of you can make it along to the opening – Thursday 2nd August 6-8pm at Homer. Look forward to seeing you then. For more information about the exhibition and Homer you can visit their facebook page here.

Coburg House Art Studios Open Weekend

My studios are once again opening their doors so you can come along and see where we work, what we do and maybe even buy yourself a little something. With over 70 artists (including myself) there is definitely something for everyone. Hope you can make it! You can find out more about the artists at the studios on the website: www.coburghouseartstudios.co.uk

Design Market – Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh

If you are in Edinburgh on the 13th, 14th and 15th July then please pop down and visit me at the Fruitmarket Gallery in Edinburgh. I am taking part in their ‘Design Market‘ this summer along side some other amazing artists and designers. Hope you can make it!

Tuscany, Italy

Just back from a little break in Tuscany, Italy where it was hot, sunny and very beautiful. Definitely re-charged the batteries and got to catch up with our nephews too! Lovely week indeed. Now back to a very wet Scotland and a very busy work diary! But in the mean time thought you might like to see some holiday snaps from my travels.

Trove Jewellery

A while ago i was asked by Sally Moore the creator behind Trove Jewellery to create a logo for her new website. I though you might like to see it and see some of the lovely jewellery that is for sale through the site too! You can check it out here.

Wedding Stationery

Since i have been getting lots of emails about wedding stationery and i still haven’t quite finished uploading all my designs etc to the wedding stationery section on my website i thought i would show you a couple of designs that i have recently done. The one above was for the lovely Amy and Isaac who got married in Edinburgh, June 2012. They even used my design on some tote bags that were given out the the guests as favours! Such a sweet idea!

I also did these wedding invites for the talented Melanie and Nicoll. They got married in Edinburgh’s botanic gardens and this setting was the inspiration behind the designs. I also wanted to let you know about the beautiful flowers that Mel and Nicoll had at their wedding (image below). They were so lovely I just to share. They were created by Natalya Ayers and Fiona Inglis of Pyrus.

New Prints

Well i have been busy in the print room recently getting lots of new prints ready. Above is a little look at what to expect in my shop very soon! As soon as they are ready for sale I’ll let you know!

Sally & Ali’s Wedding Stationery

Thought you might like to see some wedding stationery i have recently done for the lovely Sally & Ali McFarlane – more can be seen here. They asked me to create a Save the date card, day/evening invite, RSVP postcard and an all over pattern that could be used on lots of added touches throughout the day (place settings, menus, table plan etc). I also created a pattern for the lining of Ali’s wedding suit (purple pattern above). This was printed onto silk and used as the lining both inside his jacket and on the back of his waistcoat. It was a beautiful day and i wish Sally and Ali all the happiness in the world. You can see more photos of their day on ELEMENTAL’S BLOG.

Photos: The photos above where taken by the lovely people at Elemental photography: www.elementalweddings.co.uk

Dinosaur Illustrations

It has been a very busy week and i have lots of papercuts commissions to show you soon but in the meantime i thought you might like to see a sneak peek of some dinosaur illustrations i did recently. Watercolour and pan drawings are not something i do very often but when I was asked by a client i thought I’d give them a try and I am pleased I did as think they turned out OK. There were six illustrations in total all of the same dino doing different thing etc. Hope you like them.

Birthday Fun

Well it is a miserable day here in Edinburgh – gray, wet and cold! But that hasn’t dampened ‘Mary’ and I’s birthday fun! As well as my own birthday – it is also my little westie ‘Mary’s’ 1st birthday today! I am enjoying the day with cupcakes from the amazing Cockoo’s Bakery here in Edinburgh and Mary is chewing away on her bone! Hope you are all having a good day and hope there is less rain where you are! x

Made in Scotland – The Flemming Collection, London

The 2012 annual selling exhibition Made in Scotland showcases the work of a selection of contemporary Scottish makers, either from, or based in Scotland. Contemporary makers have been invited by Selina Skipwith, Director of The Fleming Collection with kind assistance from Christina Jansen, Director of The Scottish Gallery, to submit works in a range of media including textiles, glass, silver, ceramics and photography. Along side my own work other exhibitions include: Grace Girvan, Hannah Louise Lamb, Andrew Lamb, Craig Mitchell, Andrea Walsh and Frances Priest to name just a few. The Flemming Collection is located at: 13 Berkeley Street, London, W1J 8DU. More information can be found here.

Exhibition at Prema, Gloucestershire

In you are in the Gloucestershire area between 30th April – 8th June then you can see 20 pieces of my work in Prema a family friendly Arts center. There is a mixture of my screenprints and original papercuts to view and if you fancy taking one home – they are all for sale. You can find out more information about Prema and its location here.

New Blog

Welcome to my new blog! I hope this is going to be an exciting place where I can share with you what I have been up to, new work and a whole host of inspirational things that I love and think should be shared. I have recently been busy getting this new site up and running and now that we’re here I can finally start blogging again! So welcome, have a look around, and hopefully you’ll want to come back time and time again x