Stamp Series: Bruges

For those of you that have been keeping up to date with my Twitter feed during the last week, you will know that today Dan and I are off to Bruges! After spending last Saturday curled up in bed together watching In Bruges I can't tell you how excited I am to be going (and hopefully it won't be shit*).

We intended on going to Bruges last year but after planning to go over on the ferry, we were too late in booking so decided to opt for Amsterdam instead. Although I was a little gutted at the time, we have this year made sure we don't miss out on the opportunity and with being the first getaway of the year we have gone all out choosing to stay at Hotel Duke's Palace – the former residence of the Burgundian aristocracy – and are travelling by Eurostar, something I've wanted to do for a long time.

With this being both our first time in Bruges and Belgium, we are looking forward to exploring the town and their culture. Be sure to keep on eye on what we're up to whilst we're away over on my Instagram. I'm sure there will be more than enough to keep me snapping away! 

* In Bruges film reference for those of you who haven't seen it :)

Mixtape No.1

I love listening to and seeing what artists people choose to have in their mixtape, whether it be a weekly, monthly or annual playlist. It's a great way of seeing what sort of music a person is in to and what's keeping them inspired or pumped up! March has been somewhat of a mainstream month for me and you know what? I can't get enough of these songs in my mixtape, I've got a bit of a party vibe going on (which always helps on the drive to and from work). Some I have even questioned whether I should be sick of them by now but 'overkill' hasn't hit just yet.

♫ Listen now

01. “Style” — Taylor Swift
02. “Gravity (feat. Ella Eyre)” — DJ Fresh
03. “Chandelier” — Sia
04. “King” — Years & Years
05. “Love Me Like You Do” — Ellie Goulding
06. “Take Me To Church” — Hozier
07. “Hold Back The River” — James Bay
08. “Doing It (feat. Rita Ora)” — Charli XCX
09. “When the Beat Drops Out” — Marlon Roudette
10. “Heroes (we could be)” — Alesso
11. “I Loved You (feat. Melissa Steel)” — Blonde
12. “Last All Night (Koala) [feat. KStewart]” — Oliver Heldens

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Alphabet City

Alphabet City is the outcome of a project pitch for a new sports motorcycle. The illustrations, by artist and designer Ranganath Krishnamani, were created to highlight the features and benefits of this new motorcycle – one of their most fuel efficient in its sector – and to be used in a brochure to emphasise it's fuel efficiency.

I love that each letter represents a different location of our urban environments and if you look closely, the letters also correspond with a place or building beginning with that same letter. Such a simple concept, yet really well executed and it's a great example of colour consideration within each individual illustration.

You can see more of Ranganath's Alphabet City here.

Stamp Series: Japan

How many of you have been to Japan? And if so, what was the thing you loved the most about the country? It's a country I haven't ever really had the urge to visit, yet I know there's so much there that I'd probably be in awe the whole time. 

About a month ago Sophie, owner of Oh My Clumsy Heart online jewellery brand, visited Tokyo and I was keen to keep up with her Instagram feed whilst she was away. From the cityscapes to the traditional architecture, there is such a stark contrast between the old and the new. Japan is probably the equivalent of what we class as a 'superfood' when it comes to countries, always five steps ahead of where the rest of the world seems yet I love that they still are in tune with their history.

If you've been before, let me know what places you stayed in. I'd like to explore the country more and it may inspire me to create a more localised stamp.

Tarte aux Fraises

For 10 years of my life I spent most of my school holidays and one weekend every month, crossing the English Channel with my parents to stay in our French holiday home. I loved everything about the French lifestyle, culture and most importantly, the food! The first stop we would always make once we had hit land on the other side, was our local boulangerie and pâtisserie. There was no question when it came to choosing what I wanted; la tarte aux fraises.

Perfect for a warm, Summer's afternoon in the garden, this strawberry tart is not only easy to make but this recipe will ensure you've got that authentic French taste. It's all about precision and not rushing the process. I got my recipe from Rosa Jackson and it has worked every time – I've tweaked a couple of the instructions though as I cook in an AGA and you must be sure to have flour to hand when rolling out your pastry!

Tarte aux Fraises 
Serves 6

For the pastry:
+ 175g plain flour
+ 45g (5 tbsp) icing sugar
+ a pinch of salt
+ 90g of very cold butter, cut up into cubes
+ 1 egg yolk
+ 30ml (2 tbsp) ice cold water

For the crème pâtissière:

+ 350ml whole milk

+ 1/2 vanilla bean

+ 4 egg yolks

+ 75g caster sugar

+ 30g plain flour

And don't forget to buy 700g of strawberries for the topping

Pastry

1. Sift the flour and icing sugar and place in the bowl of a food processor with the salt. Pulse once or twice to combine. Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the egg yolk and water and process until the dough forms a ball. Be careful not to overmix, but do let the dough come together. Turn the dough out onto a floured board and work it very lightly until smooth, pressing it forward bit by bit with the heel of your hand.
2. Roll the dough out immediately (going against tradition, which says to let it rest in the refrigerator) and line a 9-inch (24 cm) tart tin with the pastry, cutting the edges off with a rolling pin. If it tears, don't be afraid to press it back together, using stray pieces of dough to reinforce any weak spots. Place in the refrigerator for at least an hour before using.
3. Preheat the oven to 425 F (200 C) or 400 F (190 C) on the convection setting.  If you are cooking in an Aga, place on the middle set of runners in the roasting oven. Line the pastry with a round of parchment paper and fill with baking beans or uncooked lentils/rice to blind-bake.
4. Bake for 10-15 mins, until the pastry starts to brown around the edges. Remove the paper and baking beans before returning to the oven for another 10 minutes or so, until evenly golden. Set aside to cool.

Crème pâtissière

1. Pour the milk into a medium saucepan. Scrape the seeds of the vanilla bean into the milk and add the bean to the milk. Bring to a boil, being careful not to let it burn.
2. In a large bowl, combine the egg yolks and sugar until fluffy. Add the flour and whisk well until smooth. Pour the boiling milk slowly into this mixture, whisking constantly. Return the milk mixture to the saucepan and bring to a boil, whisking to prevent lumps from forming. Lower the heat (AGA – move to the simmering plate) and continue to cook the pastry cream, whisking, for 2-3 mins over very low heat to cook the flour (if you're using an electric burner, switch to another burner so as not to burn the pastry cream). Remove the vanilla bean, pour the cream into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap so that the plastic touches the surface, preventing a skin from forming. Set aside to cool.
3. When the pastry and pastry cream have cooled, pour the cream into the pastry shell and spread it out with a spatula. Top with the strawberries, cut in half, with the cut side facing upwards to prevent too much juice from soaking into the cream.

Serve and enjoy!

With the egg whites you have left over, keep them aside in a bowl in the fridge and you have your main ingredient to make meringue nests or an eton mess with. This is a great way of ensuring that you are using up all waste (and two desserts are always better than one)!

Flat Design: Is this a Trend That is Here to Stay?

A couple of weeks ago I wrote an editorial piece for A Little Opulent on flat design. My piece was more of an opinion on what people are referring to as a 'top trend for 2014', however the popularity in the style and the stunning aesthetics makes me believe that this is a style of design that is here to stay.

In most of my work throughout my time at university, I always ended up over-complicating not only the brief in my head but in the final outcome of the design. Over time I have learned that less is more and to strip back my ideas to the basics. This is where I find flat design to be my saving grace. Because of the pure simplicity and clean lines of the style, I am forced in that case to keep my design as easy as possible. Above are a few examples of flat design that have caught my eye on Dribbble this last week.

NUKUL | JESUS | FIREART STUDIO | OSCAR

St. Patrick's Day | Download

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all of my Irish readers! For all of you celebrating today (or if you're just a fan of the clover), I have created a free wallpaper downloadable for all of your devices. I hope you all have a great day and that the luck of the Irish is with you.

download here

CLOVER PATTERN

Stamp Series: Birmingham

On Friday I shared the newest addition to my stamp series on Instagram and Twitter, the city of Birmingham. This stamp is the hardest one I have created so far as I wanted to make sure I did the place justice, being my home city. I'm proud to have been born and raised here, and I hope this shows in my stamp.

Not only have I been able to update my portfolio with this next one in my series, but I also had the pleasure of writing a guest post over on Birmingham Updates (BU) about why I started this project, which you can read here. I'm truly grateful to Luke at BU for allowing me the opportunity to share my work with so many of you and I can't quite believe the response I have had. Thank you to everyone for taking the time so far to look at my work, in particular this Stamp Series. All the feedback so far has been amazing and it makes me want to work harder and show you more!

Happy Mother's Day

I am fortunate to have the relationship I do with my mum. She's always been there for me, always put my needs first before her own and has really spoiled me (more so than I deserve and then some). Even though I know I annoy her when I try to talk to her when she's watching her favourite TV shows, I also know that when I really need advice, she'll always have some to give.

There aren't enough words in the English language to describe how much my mum means to me and how much I appreciate all that she has done for me over the last four years in particular. Since I moved away to university I felt that our relationship grew stronger, or perhaps I just grew older and realised that I need all the support of the people in my life as much as I want to give support to them.

In 2011 my life took a pretty big turn when I got diagnosed with a chronic illness and at the time I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to live with it. I was in a really bad place, my weight had dropped dramatically, I was struggling to eat, my hair was falling out, I was tired all of the time and I spent the majority of my days in a lot of pain. Since that day my mum (among my other close family members) has been by my side and has helped me in more ways than I ever thought would be possible.

A couple of weeks ago, I spotted a tweet @stylistmagazine's feed asking for people to write a love letter to their mum for Mother's Day. Being quite an emotional person, I find it hard to express my gratitude without tearing up so I sent an email over to the features team. After supplying them with the editorial content for my love letter to my mum, I am really pleased to have had it published and my mum may have shed a tear or ten herself when I showed it to her.

You can read the letter over on stylist.co.uk (it's the eighth letter so you may have to do some scrolling), but take the time to read the others too if you can. It's lovely to see how much people appreciate the woman in their lives who has inspired and helped them blossom into the individual they are.

There are many people out there who unfortunately don't get to celebrate today, but if you wrote a love letter to your mum today, what would it say?

Travel the World with my Stamp Series

If you follow me on Instagram, you will know that I started a personal project a couple of months ago where I have been creating stamps from all over the world. I've always had a fascination with travelling and as a child was fortunate to have visited some wonderful places with my parents. As I've grown older, the more this fascination has developed and I now confess to having a bad case of wanderlust.

Still in the early days of the project as I've only created 15 stamps so far, but keep your eyes peeled on here, my Instagram or on my portfolio for more in the series. I'm currently working on a stamp for Birmingham – my home city – and I can already tell you, it's the hardest one I've done so far!

What countries or cities would you like to see in my Stamp Series?

Savour the Moment

Today I wanted to take a bit of time to think about where I am and the importance of all the little things. I've seen this list floating around on a few blogs (Veda House + Breanna Rose) and thought it would be a great way of reflecting on what is currently making me happy. Last year I made a conscious decision to try and make the most of my time. This is a great way of keeping a record of these moments.

MAKING an effort to share my work more on this blog and my Instagram.
COOKING chilli con carne. Always.
DRINKING lots of elderflower cordial + water (pro tip: add some into a glass of prosecco).
READING design reference books.
WANTING to get a house with my man.
LOOKING at my pin-board world map and planning where I want to travel to.
PLAYING Daniela Andrade's version of La Vie En Rose – so beautiful!
WASTING my weekends when I just laze about the house.
SEWING nothing, absolutely nothing.
WISHING to visit the West Coast, USA within the next two years.
ENJOYING how slowly the weekends seem to be going lately.
WAITING to go to Bruges the end of the month!
LIKING that Spring is just a couple of weeks away.
WONDERING what the future holds – who doesn't?!
LOVING my new found inspiration + drive.
HOPING that this year is going to be the best yet!
MARVELLING at how much we all rely on technology these days (yes, I am guilty).
NEEDING to see my friends more.
SMELLING my perfume.
WEARING my go-to cosy outfit of leggings + a loose tee.
FOLLOWING my gut with every decision.
NOTICING how much older I look – which is a good thing – now I've had my hair cut.
KNOWING that I can achieve anything I want if I work for it.
THINKING about whether I'll be able to fit in an episode of House of Cards later.
BOOKMARKING inspiration for my Stamp Series project.
OPENING my heart more + more.
GIGGLING at all the memes I get sent by my fella.
FEELING content.

Make it Happen

Before now, I haven't really taken much notice in International Women's Day. Not because I don't believe in equality or having self-empowerment, but because I really just didn't get it. Sometimes you can be so naive to the world and for many years I was. I have spent most of my life going by my day-to-day just getting on with things as best as possible, not really ever seeing myself as lesser or better than anyone, male or female (which I suppose is a good thing). For me, all I've ever wanted is to be the best version of myself.

It wasn't until I watched Emma Watson's UN speech (He For She) on gender equality that somewhere in me a chord struck – how in this day and age are men and women still not being treated as equals?!

During my year at college I was told by one of the male tutors that I would 'never set the world on fire'. At the time I was very timid, a little frightened and I honestly didn't have much of an idea of what direction I wanted my life to go in. But those words have always stuck in the back of my mind. The words made me feel inferior. I know deep down I might never set the world on fire, but if I can at least be able to make a difference to someone's life in a positive way, whether it be through sharing my experiences with my chronic illness or inspiring someone through my work, that alone is more than I could hope for.

What I really like though about this year's celebration of International Women's Day is the theme: Make it Happen. To me this year's theme is similar to what my New Year's Resolution was. To do more. To do better. For me it is about showing what I am capable of and proving to myself that I can always do better, not just as an individual but in my personal and working life.

I'm trying my best this year to Make it Happen. I want to work hard, not be so scared to share my work with others and to hopefully grow more. I've come a long way since the shy girl who couldn't even order her own meal in a restaurant (yes, I was that bad). Things take time, but the one thing I have learned over the years is to just be yourself and do the things that make you happy. So go on, make it happen.

Moodboard: Blog Rebrand

With my recent personal project #clrkllystampseries showcasing on my Instagram receiving more response than I expected and some absolutely lovely comments, I've been thinking a lot lately about the benefits of sharing work. Whilst at University, this blog was my one and only platform for showcasing my current projects, thought processes and final pieces. Although I pushed my posts on Twitter (and occasionally Facebook), this blog was the reason I managed to get my first freelance gig. It was also the door to an internship at a local graphic design agency and the opportunity to meet with a highly respected design agency in Birmingham for a portfolio review.

Since leaving University I found my focus shift more and my spare time become lesser, meaning my blog was neglected. Spending most hours of my day either interning and working to pay the bills or spending hours looking for that first step into my 'dream career', my posts became less often and my drive to keep up with the blogging world dwindled.

Sharing work can be scary at times as you are opening yourself and your style to others. Some might like it and some might hate it, but having such positive feedback from my Stamp Series has made me feel more confident and has given me the drive to want to share my work. I'm not saying that overnight you'll see me in a blogging frenzy, sharing everything I do but I want to be able to showcase the work I'm proud to have done and have the opportunity to work on.

With my new frame of mind and passion in place, I've spent the last few evenings working on the above mood board to coincide with my blog rebrand. To me, it's important to have a platform that visually satisfies me and makes me want to build on that. I've still got a fair bit to work on until my blog is finished but in the meantime I am happy with the direction it has taken and hope that you enjoy it too!

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Creative Process: Hummingbird Original

I thought it was about time that I shared some of my design process work. It's great when you get to share the final logo or design piece with the world, but I love being able to see the process and thoughts behind other creatives projects. Since leaving university this is something I have somewhat neglected (along with this blog) but just as it did then, being able to keep a 'journal' of my work and processes can help me improve. The worst thing about being a designer is always finding something that can be improved upon. This can mean that even after being really proud of a piece of work, no doubt somewhere down the line you'll look at it and start to pick at the bits you could have done better.

As you will have seen a couple of posts ago, I uploaded the final logo for Hummingbird Original. This was such a fun project to work on as I got the chance to create the visual identity for my sister's venture into the world of children's publishing. After creating a handful of concepts to present, it was requested that the logo take on a more circular shape to which could be transferred easily over to stickers and application on the back covers of the children's books.

Using quite an illustrative style and soft colour palette, the final design was exactly what my sister wanted. It not only reflects the name of the company in the logo mark, but it also has reference to sentimental value and uses imagery and colours which are well suited to the industry this start-up company is venturing into.

You can view an enlarged version of the final logo here.