Monday, March 9, 2009

New work published and a city wedding

Hello!

At long last, the Flutter Bugs have all been published, (as you can see, in more than one language). Also new out this month are two of four young fiction novels about a little girl who can talk to animals. They are called 'Molly's Magic', and are written by the lovely Holly Webb and illustrated by moi. I did the Molly character in the top left corner, (not the animals, they are photos), and all of the black and white illustration inside. I'm so lucky to be so busy, I'm really getting some really, really cool jobs in at the moment, mostly about fairies, so I'm happy!

Some really cool news...

I'm illustrating the New Adventures of the Wishing Chair, by Enid Blyton!!! I can't show any piccies of the work yet, as it won't be published for a while, but there are six in the series which is keeping me out of mischief! Lovely colourful covers and lots of black and white illustrations inside.

The Magical Dolls' House is to be published in September. It's basically a 'build it yourself' dolls' house, complete with furniture, doll family and pets, a mat to set it on which is the garden and veg patch. It was THE most fun job in the world to do, I had my very own 'Grand Designs' moment, (I'm not sure what Kevin McCloud would make of my flowery wall paper and chintzy decor though!) And it comes with a picture book!

As you can see from the photos, Erica-Jane Waters Illustration has decamped from the shed into the corner of the nursery. I found it impossible to work down in the shed, what with nappies to change, milk, juice, playtime etc etc. The shed is actually a long way from the house, behind our garage at the bottom of the garden, facing out onto open fields. You can't see it from the house so there was no way I could leave Sienna in there while I popped up to the house to use the loo or check emails. So, my new office in an alcove, and my new drawing space is next to the cot!







In other news! My cousin Hayley got married back in January. The wedding was in Middle Temple Hall, opposite the courts of Justice in central London. The place was amazing! Unfortuately I was having a fat day, bad hair day, can't find my favourite bra day, spotty blemish day all rolled into one. Thankfully no one was looking at me, and Hayley was the centre of attention!





And finally....

We went to North Wales over Christmas time to visit my mum and dad. I caught up with my old school friend, Sarah while I was there, who spookily became pregnant at the same time as me! And a picture of the gorgeous girl herself, taken today after her lunch :0)






Bye for now!

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Hi Folks...


Hello,

I've been just so busy, pre-occupied, frantic, loving my baby girl, meeting deadlines, wondering, thinking, planning.
I've not felt the urge to blog in a long while, although I've been visiting you guys in secret!
Sienna is ONE ...wow! Where did that year go?
I have endless plans about things I could do, sewing, painting, drawing...all wonderful things I could blog about. But I'm so happy doing my job, painting and drawing, (and perhaps some sewing soon), and that takes up all my time :0)
I'd like to say thanks to all of you who have emailed me to check I'm ok! We are cool! I will let you all know when I'm back on the blog wagon, but in the meantime, lots of love,

Erica
xxxx

Friday, November 21, 2008

Hellooooooo!

I've really wanted to blog lately, but I've just been so, so, so, so busy. I'm really enjoying the projects I'm working on at the moment, seriously, they are lovely. I will show some little bits when I can, but obviously i need to wait until they're published :0)

In other news, guess who's crawling!? Aaaaaaagh! My life is changed forever! Sienna has four fabulous teeth and is very fond of Italian cuisine :0)

I must go, as I have some special people to write to.
In the mean time....enjoy Autumnal Perigord!
Oh, and check out the 'Sorciere Gentille' photo, that was a very exciting discovery, which lead to an amazing drive through twisty lanes and forests....

Back soon,

I promise

Erica
xxx





Monday, October 13, 2008

We're "home"



Hello!

Just a quick post to say we're home, despite some French fishermen at Calais! I have alot to catch up on, so will post some beautiful photos of Perigord when I get a moment to myself and tell all about our wonderful holiday.
Above is 'Madame Grotte', or Nadine as we discovered her name was. I've mentioned her, and her shop before, and it was exactly as it was last year, and the year before...and the year before.

Anyway, I'm nearly at the end of a triple bill of 'Tess of the Durbervilles', and can't see for tears!! Good grief, imagine if I were watching 'Jude the Obscure'!!!

Bye for now,

Love,

Erica
xxx

Saturday, September 6, 2008

September Salutations!



Well, it's been a bit busy here of late! Busy in a really good way, but naturally I'm feeling it.
Sienna, (I'm not sure if I've already mentioned?), has two teeth! She's also moved onto solid foods and quite literally weighs a tonne!!
I'm typing this on the laptop so don't have any recent photos on file, but will post some up soon :0)
We're off on our jollies, (holidays), in just under two weeks, and I have a lot of work to do before I go. The projects I'm working on at the moment are just gorgeous. I sometimes just cannot believe how lucky I am to be earning a living doing what I do. I'm not saying it's easy, it's alot of hard work and it took me a long time to be in the position I am now. I just hope it continues! And obviously looking after a small baby and keeping a house straight is a job in itself. Above is a very proud me, having found a book I illustrated in Waterstones!
So, I'm putting Erica's Attic on the back burner until after our holiday. This is incredibly frustrating, but I need to give myself a little bit of a breather. I'm going to spend my evenings sewing and scribbling, and when I have a good body of work I will re-stock the shop. If I were to try and do it now, I would be rushing it and I simply don't have the time to put my all into it at this time. I'm finally coming to realise that I just can't 'do it all'. Something people have been telling me for aaaaages, but being the stubborn Madame that I am, I only wanted to prove them wrong! So, I'm going to store all my stitching ideas into little jars, next to all my buttons. I will archive all my sketches and patterns in the manner of a bonkers old librarian. And there they will stay. Not for long...they'll find a way of being made...into something!
The Ottaline dolly givaway is still on, so leave a comment to be in with the chance of re-homing one of these strange little girls. I picked up a piece of winter tweed in the habedashery (spelling?!?) at John Lewis today, and am already planning some 'English Country' Ottalines.
So, I'll leave you for a little while...

a bientot!

Erica
xxx

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Um!

There is going to be a bit of a delay in the shop re-stock....
Things have gone a little crazy here!
Will be back with more info soon,

Love,

Erica
xxx

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Ottoline Dolly Give-away!

CLICK POSTER TO ENLARGE




Well, as promised, here is a selection of some of the things I have finished for the shop.
There will be four dollies, prints, post cards and some other curiosities....
To celebrate, I'm giving one of my dollies away, one of the Ottoline's you can see in the picture above :0)
All you need to do to enter the draw, is leave a comment telling me what your favourite fairy tale, poem, book or song is, and why! I'll put all the names in a hat and first one out wins a dolly! This competition is open to anyone and everyone, so give it a go!

Good luck!

Love,

Erica
xxx