The new girl

There is a new girl in the jookiku neighbourhood....i'd like you to meet, Jooni.

She is a bit of a character this one, a little bossy, a little sassy... she has even made her way over to my website...homepage no less! I think she may be sticking around for a while...even popping up on all sorts of treats (treats that will be found in my shop-yes, that online shop that really will be opening...i promise!)

...back to Jooni, here is a little bit about her...

age: older than she looks!

starsign: Scorpio

favourite food: creme brulee and dark Lindt chocolate...combined is even better!

favourite singer: Dolly Parton

favourite song: Jolene

occupation: circus performer (having a little holiday here at jookiku indefinitely due to a knee injury!)

favourite colour: black + white (with a splash of yellow or hot pink)  

favourite animal: elephant (obviously from her circus days!)

favourite place to hang out: jookiku....of course!

I think she may get herself into some mischief around here...will keep you posted on all her escapades ;) 

sunshine, bunny cakes & cute magnets!

What a lovely relaxing Easter break! The weather was sooo beautiful and sunny, so Harry and i did a bit of chalk drawing out in the sun. These very cute bunny cakes were made by our very talented neighbour-they tasted even better than they look. And look at these gorgeous kitty magnets (love the packaging too) by kiki k - a lovely surprise gift by my friend, Karina...(she has a beautifully inspiring blog, over at a kreative life , take a peek!)

Hope everyone had a lovely Easter break!

what's new pussycat?

Gosh, i really have had a bit of a theme of cats, the past week....i did draw part of this illustration a while ago, and the rest came together today. I do like mixing different techniques: 'old-fashioned' pencil rendering with loose line drawings, mixing them together to give a quirky result. This one was fun, although i do admit a little weird...

'what's new pussycat?'

a fairytale Friday

Well actually it wasn't really a 'fairytale' type of day, nothing really magical or amazing happened....but a little 'fairytale collection' was born. I drew my 'alice' and 'little red' a couple of weeks ago, and they have been waiting patiently to be put into their patterns with their new pals...so here they are...a bit of 'fairytale fun' for Friday!

'alice'

'fairytale floral' (i know, not an exciting name, couldn't think of anything...)

'little red'

bye-bye Sam-Sam

A bit over 3 weeks ago now, my little cat, Sam was run over. He was such an adventurous little spirit, always on the move, visiting all his neighbourhood friends (he had a better social life than i did!) It had crossed my mind that sometime in the future he may get himself into trouble on the road. But it still doesn't prepare you for the sadness, flatness and that horrible feeling in your stomach when you realize that little member of your family is not coming back. I am lucky that my little boy, Harry is probably still a bit too young to understand the concept of death...though i did talk to him about it. His big question to me when i tearfully explained what had happened was....'when you found him, Mummy, was he really flat?'....

He was a one in a million cat, with a massive personality...i think he actually thought he was part dog: following us to Harry's preschool last year, yes right in...he had to meet the kids. Following us to the shops, the park, to school, even to last years' neighbourhood New Year's Eve party (no fireworks, loud music or crowds bothered Sam-he was the last to leave!) I am only just beginning to stop looking for him when we pull up in the driveway or think that i can hear his meow when i peg out the washing. The house is very quiet without him.

I really wanted to 'capture' Sam's great big personality in some drawings...but initially, it didn't come easy (as i think i just felt too sad when i thought about him)...but i think my little 'illustration tribute' below sums Sam up. We loved you Sam and we miss you heaps.

let's march into March!

I can't believe it is March already! I have been a little quiet around these parts lately, but i did want to remind you about the great calendar project of 2013, (organised by my pal, Majo, where 12 of us got together to design a month of the year). March is now ready to download from Majo's blog here, it has been beautifully designed by the very talented, Simi Gauba...enjoy!

Business Boom!!

Really thrilled that jookiku has been featured on the great site, Business Boom Collective!
Take a little peek here....