Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

Just uploaded this new card to Folksy, Etsy and also my website.

It's a portrait of sorts of my Wire Fox Terrier, Jackson, and it was produced using my gocco printer. I like the rough and ready feel to the illustration and the keen eyed will spot that I'm using Cocktail Script, one of my favourite fonts again.

The idea for the design came when Jackson sneaked into our bedroom for the umpteenth time. He knows he's not allowed in there, but he should win some sort of award for persistence. Anyway, I caught him curled up on my pillow (yes, it's always my pillow) and it was such a lovely photo opportunity that I took several pictures before shooing him off.

This one was my favourite and so for the card I simply copied his position but changed the location to his red dog bed.

It's the first time I've used Jackson himself as a study for a card although of course he's the general inspiration behind all of them. Let's hope it doesn't go to his head. He'll be signing pawtographs next...

New Forever Foxed Website

I'm delighted to announce that my new Forever Foxed website is finally live, hurrah! Although I was very fond of the old site, the new one is such a treat. Alas, I can't take any of the credit myself, it's all down to the lovely Reagan from Zea Creative. She really has the patience of a saint and deserves some sort of medal for putting up with all my silly questions.

I'm still going to keep my Etsy and new Folksy shops going, but once items have expired in my eBay shop at the end of the month it will close.

Please take a look at the new website and let me know what you think...

Tintin's Anniversary

Blistering barnacles! Today marks the 80th anniversary of the first appearance of Tintin. Drawn and written by the Belgian cartoonist George Remi, better known as Hergé, Tintin was first seen in "Le Petit Vingtième", a weekly children's newspaper on 10th January 1929. Apparently, Tintin was based on an earlier character created by Hergé called Totor who was a boy scout. Tintin however, is a roving reporter, (not that there's ever much evidence of this in the books), who is drawn to dangerous intrigues in which his bravery and quick thinking save the day. He's usually accompanied by Milou, his white Wire Fox Terrier, more commonly known as Snowy.

There have been a few Tintin stories doing the rounds recently; I saw this story on Thursday asking if Tintin is gay. Not that it matters, of course, but I'm sure Snowy knows the truth ;)

Also just read in The Guardian that Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are going to be playing the Thompson Twins in the forthcoming Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson film. Hard to imagine really as they don't look a bit alike. In the books they were impossible to tell apart except by their moustaches! The actor playing Tintin has yet to be cast and I'm guessing that Snowy will be some kind of CGI monstrosity, sigh.

Happy Anniversary, Tintin. And Snowy too of course!

Wire Fox Terrier Stuff #1

Over the years I seem to have accumulated a lot of Wire Fox Terrier stuff. I don't deliberately look for WFT things, they just seem to creep up on me. At least, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

I thought I might post about some of these items so this is the first in an occasional series on WFT stuff that I either already own or secretly covet.

Much of my collection, (known affectionately by my SO as the "Wire Fox Terrier Museum") was given to me as a gift, including the latest addition, a lovely brooch created by Cherish Me Designs.

Go and pay her shop a visit and snap up one of her beautiful designs...