Loving these songs right now...

Closer from the new Tegan and Sarah album Heartthrob... Love the vibe in this video, I wanna be at that party!

And these two that are not new but have been played several times this week...


Let me know if you dig, and share your faves with me, too! :)

DIY Giant Paper Flowers

These flowers are SO AWESOME! I so want giant flowers in my life now, all over everywhere. Luckily there's a DIY for that, which looks quite intensive. Check it out here to make some for yourself!

Creative Business Workshop

So amped for Nadia's workshop this Saturday! If you're coming, I can't wait to meet you, and if  you aren't, I'll hopefully have some pics to share with you next week. Looking forward to learning lots of businessy stuffs :)

Bugging Out!

I'm hugely fascinated with nature, and bugs that enter my room are always subjected to close-up photoshoots. The things you can see with a bit of zoom are just amazing. Take a look...

That hairdo! Those feelers!

This guy looks like he's back in the 80's with massive shoulder pads on his jacket.

Behind bars...

 This guy was truly fantastic - the camera doesn't do it justice. His legs were bright lumo orangey pink! The colours were amazing. He kind of looks cuddly like a teddybear but simultaneously terrifying. And look at that hair! And those legs! Kinda Dr Seuss-ey.

Fun Interactive Advertising

"To launch the high quality TV channel TNT in Belgium we placed a big red push button on an average Flemish square of an average Flemish town. A sign with the text "Push to add drama" invited people to use the button. And then we waited..."

Advertising like this is so cool - it creates a whole experience for people to play with and places it in real life and also gives you the choice to view it or not. Very clever, awesome, well executed concept!

They've also done a sequel. I think someone should do a "Push to add Happiness" button next :)

A new logo and business card for Emma Jayne

Still super busy with work - these two weeks have been non-stop GO time and although it's been tiring, I can't say I'm not loving it! I feel like once I hit these deadlines I need to have a party - a relaxation party that is... maybe blow up some balloons, get some bubbles, popcorn and choc chip cookies and stay in bed with the cats all day. And then get ready to go all over again :D

Here's another peek at some of what I've been busy with...

Emma Jayne is a proudly South African, and proudly Durban, company that produces a pretty collection of bags woven, printed and sewn locally. They're a mother & daughter team and are taking SA by storm! I was lucky enough to get to do their logo and business cards, have a look below...

I'm so glad they're happy with the results! Check them out on Facebook and Twitter. 

Bizz Bizz Bizzyness & a Wedding Invitation Design!

Shoh, what a week! The busiest I've had in a long while, so much on the go! All awesome stuff though, so loving every minute of the madness. It has taken a toll on blog posts though, but I tried to make up for it a bit by sharing some fun stuff with you on the Facebook page (go check it out and give it a like if you like what you see!).

At least the week has a more chilled and fun ending to look forward to - my cousin's getting married on Sunday! Judging by the bits and pieces I've seen and heard, it's going to be a really beautiful and special day. I was honoured that they chose me to create their invitations, and together we came up with the designs below...

The best part about it was definitely how happy they both are with the end result! 

Her: "I'm so excited about this card, it really has come together so well. Emotionally also, it really captures how far (fiancé) and I have come! Thank you for capturing the essence of us! :D"
Him: "Thank you for that awesome piece of work you pulled through! You captured the spirit we wanted in a very professional way."

I'm so glad to have been able to create what they wanted, and so grateful to have a part in their special day! Can't wait for Sunday :)

Have a fantastic weekend, whatever you do!

P.S. If you'd like to contact me about design or illustration work, please do drop me a mail at happiness.is.info(at)gmail.com :)

Yay for Edible Art

Check out this awesome installation by Chappies bubblegum! Edible art FTW. It's one of six that will appear all over South Africa, and each one contains a winning fact submitted by South Africans. It took 15 hours to create, and less than 15 minutes for people to take down!

Hand-painted biscuits!

Aren't these just super pretty? They're the creations of Luciana Borges of Lulu's Sweet Secrets. She has a passion for painting and had the awesome idea of extending that to food. Brilliant and beautiful! I don't think I'd be able to let these get eaten if I'd taken the time to paint them so beautifully though, haha!

Happiness with Kikki.k

Kikki.k is an awesome stationery company that creates cool stuff. They also do a lot in the way of inspiring happiness (see my past post on their 14 Days of Happiness here). They've just released their happiness journal, which I'm dying to get my hands on! 

"This journal is here to help you understand your own, personal happiness and to offer ways in which to let more happiness in daily. Use the information, exercises, prompts and note pages in this journal as a guide on your exploration and remember, think happy, be happy."

They have several other helpful journals and notebooks including the Food and Exercise Journal, Wellbeing Journal, Gratitude Journal, and loads more awesome organisation products that are perfect to start off a fresh new year. I want it ALL!

"At kikki.K, we believe happiness is a choice we make. While it's influenced by different factors in our lives, happiness is a practice we can all make time for."

Check out their products here.

Have you made any happiness-related goals for this year? 

Late Night Crafting: Origami Stars

 I was in the mood for some late night crafting the other night so I got out a tut for these cute little origami stars that I found on Pinterest. They were surprisingly easy and quick to do.

This was the tutorial I followed, you can check it out here. 

Blogger Secret Santa

Last year I took part in the Blogger's Secret Santa organised by Kelly from Sunflowers & Spears. This was the awesome, fun and thoughtful little package I got from my secret santa, Kerry from Guess What Girls! It's such fun to get surprise gifts in the post. She noticed my thing for cats, so it's all Hello Kitty stuff, haha! She knows I'm a freelancer, so the daily planner will come in handy, the little notebook is perfect for carrying around with me to doodle on the go, and there's a good supply of cute pencils there, too. Plus a batch of headbands in really nice colours! Thanks, Kerry! :D
Well done and thanks to Kelly for organising and co-ordinating the whole thing.

Happy New Year!

Happy new year, everyone! Feel like I haven't blogged in ages, and I know I have fallen behind a bit - life just gets overwhelming sometimes. Anyhoo, I hope you've all had a fantastic festive season and are feeling refreshed and amped to kick 2013's butt! If you're still on holiday, YAY and enjoy :)

I don't make resolutions as such, but I have written down a few goals that I'd like to accomplish this year. Trying to get more organised is very big on that list! I thought I didn't have much to share from the past year, but looking back on 2012 it feels like it was a very long year - so much happened that feels like it was much longer ago already. So this is going to be a pretty long post to make up for the lack at the end of last year!

My biggest and best moment in 2012 was most definitely leaving my job to go solo as a freelance illustrator and designer. I'm so grateful to be able to say that after 6 months of it, I'm surviving and not living in a box and eating cat food. I'm so happy and grateful that I got the opportunity to make that decision and so hugely grateful that it's going ok so far :)

I got to visit some animal places... I'm like a kid at animal farms. I've always wanted to be a vet and would still love to pursue something animal related someday soon. Also visited the SPCA many times; it breaks my heart and I almost always leave there a little teary, but it feels good to spend some time with the poor creatures and show them a bit of love and hope they have a good future in store. If only I could take them ALL home.

Some of the books I read... I have a thing for collecting pre-loved classics and have been slowly growing my collection. I really, really love old books. 

I won tickets to go to the Design Indaba simulcast! The speakers were fantastic and super inspiring, hope I get to go again this year. 

I also grew a few terrariums, which I loved. Gotta make me a few more this year. 

I really enjoyed all the quiet solo moments I got to spend in my favourite cafes, eating yummy food and brainstorming, doodling, reading or working. Those are some of my favourite moments and I'm so glad I get to spend a lot more time in these places these days.

Two of the nicest people I know got hitched this year (not to eachother, haha) and are both moving/have moved abroad(which is sad for me but awesome for them!). A very good friend of mine and all round awesome person who's moved to New Zealand for love, and my cousin who will be moving to France soon. I'm so happy for them both! That awesome paper crane was part of the decor at my friend's wedding, and three of them are now living in my car :) I got to see the Nelson Mandela monument when I went to her wedding in Hilton.

I was lucky enough to win tickets to the Top Gear Festival! It was out so awesome, and was so cool to see the guys live.

I got to have a few great mini getaways this year, not anywhere far away, but all awesome. I love nature and being outdoors and hope to get in lots of outdoor, naturey adventures this year. 

Loved the beautiful rainy weather we've had, and hope there's more of that instead of the stifling miserable heat! And I splashed out on some new gym-wear as my "bonus" :D

For the longest time I've been stuck in a not-creating rut where I guess I was just afraid to draw and experiment. I'm so glad I was able to overcome that and have gotten round to playing around with a few mediums I haven't used before and trying to push myself in different directions. Hope to do a lot more of that this year! Practice can do wonders.

 And of course the three gorgeous loves of my life! A perk of working from home is having them all perched nearby and being able to grab them for quick mid-work cuddles. (I know, I'm going deeper into Cat Lady Land, but it makes me happy, so I'm ok with that).

Shoh! What a bumper post. Overall just very grateful for the changes that have come about.
What was your biggest moment of 2012? I'd love to know, so please do share :)