It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Hello all you lovely peeps!

Just a quick post today to feature an absolutely gorgeous journal created by the Paper Pixie using my Printable Retro Christmas journal which if you fancy having a go at one yourself (still time!) you can find the link to it here on my Etsy shop.. pink ink pixie...

Christmas journal kit.. on my Etsy shop!



And here is the link to the video of the beautiful journal which Paper Pixie made, I am sure if you take a look that you will agree with me when I say that she has a talent!

Click on the link below!

Youtube video of the journal..

Another video of a flip through of the contents of my printable journal by Vintage Roses Scraps

flip through of journal kit

Anyway, that is all today, I must rush and tidy up as our joiner has just left and we are in a mess. Christmas was creeping up on us, but now it is lunging!  I am not organised at all.. oh well, I tell a lie, I have got a Christmas cake made, gravy, stuffing, cranberry jelly, bread sauce, cauliflower cheese and little tarts tucked away in the freezer, so maybe I am not doing that bad! Are you all organised yet?

Bye for now.. Suzie xx

Fresh on my shop today! Printable journal pages..

Hello again! 

Who else besides me loves a good journal?  I love them, and I also enjoy making them too.. journals, junk journals, cute little books! But aren't the supplies so silly expensive, if you go to a craft shop..if you can find one that is, and look through the paper packs, they are all so dear!  Then you get home and stare at them, and stare at them, scared to use those precious papers! If you make a mistake, well, what a waste of money! When they are gone they are gone. 

Not so with digital printable papers, no, you can print out as many as you like.. make a ooopsie-daisy .. print it again! 

This is one of the reasons that I decided to design my own, and here is one which I have just added to my Etsy shop....

Double pages..instant download journal pages.

I also allow commercial use of my printable journal kits, as I know some of you like to make a journal and then wish to sell it. I know that a lot of designers do not allow this, but I feel that everyone needs a helping hand now and then, and besides I like to be kind and spread the love!  My policies are on my shop and on the items for anyone wishing to sell their creations. 

Here is a little journal I made for a friend.. hope you like it! :)

Anyway, I mush dash, going to visit my Auntie in hospital and then there is the dinner to cook,the dogs to feed.  Wishing you all a happy Sunday! 

Suzie x

A new venture selling printable quotes on my Etsy shop :)

Hello! Long time no mee! Ha ha. I am a terrible, terrible blog owner, absolutely appalling. Who would guess that a few years ago I blogged once a week no fail.. that is what happens when you take a short break!

Anyway, as some may know, I have a little Etsy shop, and it is little.. not many items in it really! Oh you know how it is, life gets in the way, and once again I am in the middle of a house renovation. Put that together with this and that and what it adds up to is not a lot of action in the creative department!

But! I have been putting together some inspirational quotes to put on my shop.. printable ones. Instantly downloadable once who ever buys them buys them! My Christmas printable journal kit and the add on kit which I created to match, are selling well and seem quite popular, so that is good!

 Digital printable Christmas journal kit.



So! I decided to try my hand at some printable quotes :

one of my printable quotes available now.

On the home side of things, we have just had the kitchen put in and a new cooker which I have been waiting for for two and a half years, so let's just say I am very happy and very, very grateful!
I shall put some photos on next time I do another blog post, but for now, love to you all.
Suzie x

Wonderful book by Pippa Munro!

Hello! Here I am again with a quick post about a commission for a book cover which I illustrated at the tail end of last year.  I have now read the book, well nearly all, but I couldn't wait to write about how much I am/have enjoyed snuggling up with a cup of tea and floating away into the story. It has a cosy warmth about it which makes you identify with all the lovely characters and gently draws you in.  I was brought to tears quite a few times while reading!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vintage-Dreams-Pippa-Munro-ebook/dp/B01N34V2OJ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487761226&sr=8-1&keywords=pippa+munro

It really is a fabulous book! I have included a link above for anyone who is interested in reading it.. I love the way the stories intertwine and weave into such a readable and interesting tale!

Oh and by the way, I am actually still working on my next printable journal,  a bit slowly, but at the moment  we are renovating our home.. what a dusty mess!!  However,  despite only just having a rewire we did manage to have family here for dinner last weekend.. we used some old Polish recipes which George's Mum used to cook.. so yummy! I can highly recommend Polish food.. delicious!!

Love to you all!... Suzie x 💗

Happy New Year!!!

Just a quick post to wish you all a very happy 2017!




This year I hope to be adding more printable journal kits to my shop after a good start to my venture just on the run up to Christmas.  There will be more digi stamps, although they are slow to sell, so in the main I shall be concentrating more on my journal designs and ephemera.

Some of the printable double pages from my Christmas journal kit and add on kit.

There is a lot of content included, way too much to show here.. I really enjoyed designing Jolly Holiday! Here is the link to my shop Pink ink Pixie   https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/490500481/jolly-holiday-printable-journal-kit-junk?ref=shop_home_active_1

Also, last year just towards the tail end, I was asked to illustrate a book cover written by Pippa Munro....

But now, once again Christmas has been and gone and we all stand before a fresh new year. This year will see me very busy with my designing but also with the renovation of our new home!  What have you got planned for 2017, I would love to know! 

Love to you all.. Suzie xxx

New on Pink ink Pixie at Etsy.. Jolly holiday printable add on kit!

Hello all again! I know, already!... I went all that time without a post and now here I am.. I just can't stop!  Just a quick update from yesterdays post really.  Anyone with an Etsy shop selling digital products will know that when you enter a listing, you can only upload so many files at a time, so what do we do with all the other work we have been busy designing? Another listing.. this time an add on kit for the Jolly Holiday printable journal kit which I put on my shop yesterday. 

This add on has everything you need to make a small notebook which can fit into a tuck spot in the journal and be used for lists or notes, or just Christmas rantings!  Or it can be used alone to carry with you in your handbag.. or to make Christmas paper aeroplanes to fly about the top of your Christmas tree.. whatever your imagination wishes! Also included .. ephemera, tags, banners, a bookmark, and other bits and bobs. 

Lovely! You know that I will most definitely be getting out my modge podge, glue, scizzors and book binding supplies and making this one myself! Can not wait! 

Before I do though, I have a drawing which I need to do... but I will be making this journal.. hopefully in time for Christmas!! 

Anyway good peeps, speak soon.. love and hugs

Suzie! xx

A Jolly Holiday coming your way!

                                  

Hello all you lovely people! Yes, the wanderer returns again after yet another long absence from my  blog!  However, better late than never as they say. 

Fresh on my Etsy shop today ..ta da! 

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/490500481/jolly-holiday-printable-journal-kit-junk?ref=shop_home_feat_4

A instant downloadable journal kit, complete with cover and spine. A lot of time and thought goes into each one of my creations. Sometimes hours and hours, or even days and days pass by in my little art room, with nothing but the faint sound of my whirring brain and  the occasional whiff of smoke wafting from my ears as I try to make my feeble pea brain work just that little bit harder! Anyway, this one took ages, but I enjoyed every minute! 

So far, on my shop I have some digital paper packs and of course some digital stamps/images made from my original drawings.  

                                                                                   

 Over the next few weeks I expect to have added more to the shop as my mind is brimming with ideas.. and besides it keeps me occupied! :)

On the home front, we have recently moved house and there is an awful lot of work to be done, but we love the big garden and the potential of this wreck!! Takes one to know one! Ha ha. 

                                                                            

                                                                 

        

Well, I am freezing.. the radiator doesn't work properly, so off to make a nice hot mug of tea! Will I post again soon, or will it not be for another year.. who knows?  Hopefully, as I have changed the name of my blog now and had a makeover.. I may well start posting more often again! 

Love to you all!! Suzie xxx

A New Venture!

Hello all.. I am terrible, I haven't posted anything for a long, long time!  I have been so caught up in various events.. you know the kind of thing.. life!  Anyway, I am trying to give myself a massive kick up the you know what  and get on with being creative again. I took a break a couple of years ago.. and guess what? That break just went on and on!  So! I have added another string to my bow. I have not been completely idle! I have bean learning photo shop and venturing into the world of digital paper design. Here are a couple of samples of my digital artwork so far....

My aim is to add to my already growing number of digi stamps by offering digital paper packs for scrapbooking, journalling and the like. All will be printable, and there will be tags, and collage sheets and many other papery goodies... if that kick  I give myself works! My other Etsy shop The Cock-eyed arty miss is still up and running and here is a link to my new shop https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/PolkaDotPixiePapers?ref=hdr_shop_menu   which at the moment it is pretty sparce in there, all you can hear is the wind howling about the empty shelves! Ha ha.. I will update my lonely and very neglected blog as I go along!

Bye for now.. love to you all Suzie xx

My happy days challenge... for a year!

Hello Peeps!
How are you all diddling out there? I hope you are all well and happy, and if not I wish you love.

100 days (well actually 102!) ago I entered  the 100 days of happy challenge  http://100happydays.com/  . Basically, no matter what is going on in your life, you are to find at least one thing each day to be happy about. Sounds easy? Well yes and no! Some days, especially if you have had some bad news or just woken up feeling the weight of the world on your shoulders then it can feel pretty daunting. But! It is possible to stop and think about all the things you still have to be grateful for isn't it? Well I do think so, and that is what I have been doing. Mind you I usually try to do that anyway.  

                                                   That happy feeling! ..................... ☺

I finished the challenge a couple of days ago,  and a few friends on Facebook (what lovely friends I have! I was quite touched by their kindness)  asked me if I would carry on spreading the happy, so I thought well how long for?   Hmmmm.... Well why not for a whole year? So I have decided to add another 265 days of happy onto the hundred I have already done! You can find my posts here https://www.facebook.com/suziejaysroka  and here https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/265daysmoreofhappymakesayear

                                         Happy thoughts..... are good for you..... Yup!

Ok Peeps, I have dogs to walk and Happy thoughts to manifest out into the world..

Lots of love to you all! Keep the circle of love growing out there with lots of smiles Peeps!  ♥   .. Suzie xxx          

Better late than never! As they say!

Oh dear me! I have done it again and taken months to get around to making another post.  So, better late than never!  I have been doing a little spring cleaning on here which led me to think about my lovely friend Rachael and her beautiful gift which she made for me a few months ago.  Needless to say, I have been meaning to post about this and that. and have not gotten to do it due to various ups and downs in life! Also, making more excuses,  I have only just got a new camera, my old one was really getting duff! 

Look at this beautifully gorgeous art doll! Meticulously put together with such attention to detail. Truly amazing, and even though I am only just getting round to putting her on my blog, this does not detract from how much I cherish her. She has been having a little fly about in the garden but she usually keeps me company in my art room! Sometimes she hides and all I can hear is a faint giggling and  the fluttering of wings :)

Rachael is a very talented lady and you can find her at Binky Roo Crafts.........

Here are a couple of links for you, if you would like to know more about Rachael's fabulous work https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/BinkyRooCrafts and https://www.facebook.com/BinkyRooDesigns

This week I have been busy sewing up a couple of tooth fairy bags, which are now on the way to America...

 And here is a link to my little Etsy shop! https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/thecockeyedartymiss?ref=si_shop

Lastly! I am going to try so hard to keep up with my blogging, as I actually enjoy it when I am writing it! 

See you soon Peeps, stay well and happy!  Love Suzie 

Bunny rabbits and faraway castles!

What am I like? Considering I used to blog every Friday no fail, I have let things slip. just a bit.. last time was June I think!

What have I been doing.. well,  I have just listed my latest Needle Doodle/embroidery hoop art on my Etsy shop.  

Here is my original watercolour painting which it originated from....

These needle doodles take such a long time to make and sew. The process starts with very carefully drawing the design onto calico fabric, which is a natural and slightly uneven cloth and makes a steady hand and eyes quite key! Sadly my eyes are a bit wonky these days, and I need new glasses as mine are worn out and bent from a certain Old English Sheepdog called Dottie Dollie who decided that they made a tasty treat!

Next of course is all the sewing.. takes ages and ages...hours,  but what a good excuse to sit and watch things on the TV which I normally wouldn't take time to do. I have some vital equipment I need before I get started.. a needle, threads, beads, etc, and most importantly.. a pot of tea.. ha ha!

When the sewing is complete, beads, applique and other embellishments too, I have to hot glue it into place in the wooden embroidery hoop and hot glue a thick calico backing onto it, which I stamp and sign.

Phew, I feel worn out now! Now I am off to start another one!

Have a happy week Peeps! Suzie xxx

Dancing Butterflies and Doodles of Dogs!

Hello all you fine Peeps!!  Well, what a beautiful day it is here.. sun shining and warm, bees buzzing.. almost dare I say it... like Summer!  What a glorious start to June!  Today, I have been sat out in the garden nursing a poorly arm, luckily not the one I draw with though. So I have been creating a series of doodles of my Old English Sheepdog called Dollie and my lovely little rascal of a Jack Russell Edwoof.

In my drawings they are called Dottie Dollie and Mister Edwoof Tedley! What fun they have together! Or on their own for that matter!

 And just for now a peek at another in progress, one which I will finish today, as you can see the mouse is unfinished as yet, well I hope it looks like a mouse to you all anyway! One thing I love about Old English Sheepdogs is their big mahoosive black noses, I just love them! And Dottie Dollie is the first one out of a total of five which we have been lucky enough to have in our lives over thirty odd years, that has a tail, and I love hearing the thump, thump when she wags it, and she wags it a lot as she is a happy little girl!

I have done all in all so far... mmmmm... yep..six drawings in this series, but I am keeping the others all to myself for now!

Well, better get back out into the sun to do some more doodling!!  Until next time, love to you all.

Suzie xxx

Fairy Magic and Chatty peeps!

Hello everyone again!!

The lovely Rachael Carver of  binkyroo dolls and crafts who is the very talented lady who designed and developed the Cd-Rom for Creative Crafting World 'At the Bottom of the Garden' for which I did all the artwork for,  gave me a lovely interview which she did for her blog  http://binkyroo.blogspot.co.uk/

And here it is! Please do try to ignore my fizzogg with it's simple grin! ha ha! 

Away with the Fairies - An Interview with Suzie Sroka

Since this blog is for arts, crafts, and pretty much anything design related, I decided to do my very first interview. So I sat and thought for a moment who would I love to interview and the answers I came up with were all impossible, most are no longer in the land of the living - Clovis Trouille, Cary Grant, Vincent Price, and Elizabeth Taylor to name just a few, and the others, well, I'm far too unimportant for them to want to talk to little old me. But I did have one woman who is just as fantastical and spiritual as the above mentioned and that's Suzie Sroka, the lovely lady who drew the wonderful images for the Crafting CD-Rom I designed for Creative Crafting World, At the Bottom of the Garden.  

Interview with Suzie Sroka

Suzie Sroka

Q. What are your favourite things to paint?

A. I love painting children and people in general, although I also love to paint the occasional dog or animal, and I really love painting whole scenes with all of the above in them!

Q. Who/what are you inspirations?

A. My childhood is mainly my inspiration. I have many memories of that time, and can remember vividly how I thought and daydreamed. I think because I spent some of my childhood in Nova Scotia in Canada, and the rest in England, I remember it so much more as it was so varied. I just remember the magic of being a trusting, believing child, open to magic. I absolutely adored reading Enid Blyton's 'The Faraway Forest' and 'The Enchanted Tree', I used to want to believe those things could really exist! I also used to love nonsense verse too.

Q. Which of the 12 featured designs is your favourite?

A. Well that is hard to answer! Can I have 3? The sunflower pixie, the sleeping fairy and the kiss, but at a push I would choose the pixie with the sunflower.........or the sleeping fairy!! I used to be indecisive, but now I am not too sure.. ha ha!

Q. How long have you been drawing and painting? 

A. As long as I can remember, from the time I could pick up a pencil and scribble it has been there. Years ago I remember a teacher showing my Mum a picture I had done, it was of a ship, it was very detailed with portholes and people looking out of them, deckchairs.. everything, and the teacher said that I was excellent at drawing, but that it was a shame I had to spoil it all by painting it! I never forgot that, and still feel nervous and terribly lacking in confidence whenever I pick up a paintbrush! 

Q. Do you remember your first commissioned piece?

A. Yes, I do, I was asked to draw and paint several children wearing billboards. Each bill board was from a deck of cards, it was for a card club. I enjoyed that one! 

Q. Crafting CD-Roms are a completely different format to a print of book. How does it see your artwork on cards and boxes, does it have the same impact?

A. Well, it is completely different, but it is still a thrill to see my artwork on anything! I am pondering having a go at writing a children's book myself, and that would be a challenge.. I have a few ideas swimming about in my imagination right now! I also have a little Etsy shop and am working on some digi stamps for that at the moment!

Q. Do you have a studio or a specific place you draw/paint in?

A.Well I have a studio which doubles up as a dining room too when we need it, this is not ideal as I need to tidy everything away when we do! I also love the breakfast room which is just as well, as I was actually stuck in there with four dogs when I was working on the artwork for 'At the Bottom of the Garden', as we had workmen in the rest of the house at the time! Sometimes if it is a really lovely day, the garden is rather appealing too, as I can watch the butterflies dancing and the bees buzzing!

Q. Do you have any guilty pleasures or a routine that you go through before you sit to paint or draw?

A. Not really, but I do love to listen to music when I am drawing or painting, it takes me into another world and affects mood. My guilty pleasure I suppose is that I like the music to be quite loud! I enjoy a varied choice of music, it would be hard to find something which I didn't like to listen to. I also love to eat midget gems and Licorice, I have loved licorice since I was a small child!

Q. I know you have several dogs, do they let you paint in peace?

A. Most of the time .. yes! On occasions no!! Generally they are quite good, and get on well together. It was a bit difficult when I was drawing and painting for this CD-Rom as being locked in the breakfast room with 3 Jack Russells and A large Old English Sheepdog puppy is not ideal, but we all managed!

Q. Most importantly, do you believe in fairies?

A. Ha ha, well of course!!! I used to look for them when I was a child, and was tired out often in the day, as I would lie in bed with my eyes very barely open, trying to fool the fairies into thinking I was asleep, because we all know they won't appear if you are looking for them! I was convinced if I waited long enough I would catch them flying about my bedroom and tiptoeing across my bed!! Nowadays, I believe in most things that should not be there! I have never given up on that childhood magic. In fact as a child I disliked magicians, as I wanted 'real' magic only, I wasn't about to be fooled by someone pulling a rabbit out of a hat! I have a strong spiritual side, and am always open to possibilities, after all just because you can not see something, does not mean it is not there!!

One of Suzie's paintings from At the Bottom of the Garden

That was fun Rachael, thank you!  If you pop over to Rachael's blog, and go to her last blog post before our interview, you will see that she is involved in a very worthy cause,  just click on the link below to be magically transported there! She is indeed a special lady!  

http://binkyroo.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/charity-sponsored-sew-fighting-cancer.html

Right, off  I go! Until next time, keep happy and much love! Suzie xxx

Exciting News.. My artwork on Create and craft TV!

Hello Peeps!

Well here I am with some very exciting news!  I have been working on a lovely project with the wonderful Lynda Chapman from http://www.creativecraftingworld.co.uk/index.php?route=product/category&path=61 and have been a very busy bee drawing and painting fairies, pixies and embellishments galore until sparks were flying off my pencils and my paintbrushes were wilting with exhaustion!

All for a brand spanking new Crafting cd rom 'At The Bottom Of The Garden' which is to be featured on a four day deal on the Create and Craft TV channel, starting on Monday 13th May.. so watch out for that!  The crafting cd will have all sorts of goodies, including backing papers, templates and digi stamps too! The lovely Rachael Carver ( http://binkyroo.blogspot.co.uk/) has been working like a whirling dervish  to develop the crafting cd and the marvellous Elaine Wheeler (http://wheelerscraftiness.blogspot.co.uk/?spref=fb)  has been creating some gorgeous cards using some of the digi stamps.  Here are some of Elaines cards she has made using this very versatile cd..... I love the way the embellishments have been used to give a 3D effect!

This digi stamp can also be found here http://www.creativecraftingworld.co.uk/downloads-and-printables/digital-stamps-digistamps-a-kiss

Lynda has been working her socks off getting all the demos, etc., ready for the show next week, I am not sure that she has actually had any sleep!

There are fantastic reproductions of my original artwork in crystal clear 300 dpi (which means good!) and so much much more!

Lynda will be showing my originals on TV

Digi stamps which allow you to paint them, crayon them or whatever you want to do with them! You can re-size them too, just think of the possibilities! Use the embellishments to bring your cards to life and give them form and dimension.  Let your imagination soar like a bird!

A digi stamp! 

So peeps put that date in your diary... Monday the 13th May for four days on Create and Craft, check here for times  http://www.createandcraft.tv/tvSchedule.aspx?mediaId=10, and you can even watch it on your laptop or pc too!  Pop along and see Lynda, she is highly watchable!

Love to you all! Suzie xxx

Coming soon to my Etsy shop! Digi stamps! :)

Hello lovelies, hope you are all well and happy?

When our mutinous house behaves itself again, and we can find our possessions once more (or even reach them!), I intend to concentrate a tad more on my Etsy Shop. I am afraid to say it has been really difficult getting on with anything in a thorough way in the chaos of a building site!

Anyhow, here are a couple of digi stamps which I have been tweaking for my shop.  Digi stamps are a very versatile tool for a crafter to use as they can be resized as desired and of course can be used as many times and in as many ways as you can imagine! Not just for card making at all, as you will see in my photos, I have used one to transfer onto calico and then embroidered it. This will be mounted in an embroidery hoop and popped onto a shelf in my shop soon!  http://www.etsy.com/shop/thecockeyedartymiss

As you can see, I need to do some work with my watermarks! Anyway, until next time Ta Ta! :) 

Suzie xxx

Hello Chaps and Chapesses! :)

Hello all you lovelies! I can hear you saying "who the heck?"... I know I haven't posted for an awfully long time and have most likely faded from blogland's memory as a faint dot of mist, soI must try to write a post a bit more often from now on! I used to do one every Friday, no fail.

What have I been up to? Hmmm let's see.. well.... I have just finished a new needle doodle for my Etsy shop 
but it just needs the backing put on before it goes on.. here is a little peek of it....

I have been a busy bee this week as I have also painted two ACEO's for my shop too, and once I have tweaked a couple of bits and bobs I shall be putting these on too. These are only diddly little things and measure only 2.5 x 3.5 inches each.

This must be my shortest blog post ever, and anyone who remembers me will know that I waffle a tad on occasions! Before I go out into Poulton for a meal with the long suffering George, I shall leave you with a picture of our latest family member, our 12 week old Old English Sheepiedog.. Dollie Dottie Daydreams or Doris as I sometimes call her! She is cute hey?

Next time I will put a pic of our other doglets too.. Bertie, Peggy and Edwoof, or Eddie or Ted as we call him.
We have also been sooo busy doing up yet another house, and this one is a mess believe me!

Anyway peeps I hope you all have a very Happy Easter and ta ta for now!

Suzie xxx