2016 – Page 4 – Ella's Place

Posted on September 26, 2016September 26, 2016 by ellajohnston12

Monday Moodboard: Metallics

Every single interiors retail show I visited over the summer this year featured metallics, particularly copper, that’s why it’s this week’s Monday Moodboard.

Fans of simplicity take note. You don’t have to be full-on bling to embrace a bit of metallic joy in your life (although don’t mind a bit of bling sometimes). Metallics can achieve a dramatic, opulent look but you can also use metallics to add warmth and texture to things as I hope I’ve shown here.

Metallic touches can be subtle, chic and classy I promise; underlaid under shabby chic furniture, incorporated into abstract-impressionist inspired painting, a subtle accent onto painted pebbles, gorgeous vintage bakewares even to brighten up a simply-shaped cake – it’s not all about blinding people with glamour and sparkle.

Posted on September 23, 2016September 23, 2016 by ellajohnston12

Friday fun: Sort of Shelfie!

Of late there has been a trend for ‘shelfies’; things on people’s shelves that reveal a bit about them.

I’ll try and do a semi regular one for Ella’s Place as they are a bit of Friday fun and it’s always nice to have a bit of a nose.

This time I’m doing a ‘sort of shelfie’ with the items on my mainly blue and white dining room sideboard. Here’s a list of items from left to right.

1: Floor lamp made with Dannells kit and bluebell fabric from Spoonflower.
2: Pierre Luigi, a flamboyant Bitossi Rimini pigeon. You can read his story here.
3: PL is sat on Letters of Note and More Letters of Note, visit the Letters of Note Website for fab correspondence.
4: Books, including The Beechwood Airship Interviews by Dan Richards where you can see some of my sister Lucy Johnston’s photography
5: Vintage Habitat vase.
6: Adorable plain grey vase.
7: Our wedding picture (don’t we look young).
8: Old glass bottle with dried flowers, poppy heads and grasses.
9: Fabric covered tea-light box (you can see how I made it here)
10: Large lamp made with Dannells kit using Spoonflower fabric with base sprayed in matt blue paint.

The large square gorgeous thing on the wall is a beautiful Liberty silk scarf the lovely Dr B gave me on our 12th wedding anniversary that I had framed. I adore it.

Posted on September 22, 2016September 21, 2016 by ellajohnston12

DIY: My fabric designs

I had a very exciting delivery last week from Spoonflower, who sent me some of my new pattern designs on fabric.

I’d worked up four designs taken from my illustrations. I wanted to see how they would work as a patten repeat and if it translated onto fabric.
Ella Johnston Fabric designs ellasplace.co.uk The theme of this year for me has been to get out of my comfort zone. So I’ve created patterns with my tropical leaf drawings, laurel leaf and feather design, watercolour spots and fox terrier illustration. I have done other, very simple, designs in the past with my hand-carved heart and leaf designs but these have been one colour one white and very basic repeat. This was new territory for me and I’ve not normally been this playful with my pattern designs before. Still, I’m loving pushing myself and these new design were a lot of fun to put together.
Ella Johnston Fabric designs ellasplace.co.uk Creating repeat fabric designs is kind of like a jigsaw puzzle. I make a ’tile’ so that it’s one square that can be joined together and repeated to create an overall pattern that can cover as big an area as you desire. It’s a really efficient way of creating a large design.
Seeing as I’m talking about getting out of my comfort zone I have to face one major stumbling block for me; sewing! I have undertaken some sewing projects before and have attended some great classes with Sew Over It but I admit I’m not the most confident with a machine.

I think I need some stitchy advice. What should I make with these fab fabrics? Where does an unconfident sewer like me start? Send help!

Posted on September 21, 2016September 20, 2016 by ellajohnston12

New Thornback & Peel Collection; Blackbird and Bramble

Last week Thornback & Peel launched its Blackbird and Bramble collection and I have to say it’s rather lovely.
As regular visitors to this blog will know I am a fan of Thornback & Peel – anything that celebrates illustrated motifs in fashion and homewares is always a big winner for me.
This collection is great for the end of the year. The beautiful dark purples and warm pink tones would look great on a rustic country kitchen table. However, combined with the delicate nature-inspired illustration, this collection would also warm up a modern, sleek space too.

Thornback & Peel’s trademark is its delicate line and beautiful vintage-style illustration. I do admire the way these motifs can translate onto a wide range of products and shapes.

You can see more of the collection at the Thornback & Peel website.

Posted on September 20, 2016September 19, 2016 by ellajohnston12

Drawing of the week: Helenium

Inspired by last Friday’s Gardener’s World and indeed my own home-grown efforts this week’s drawing of the week is a helenium.

This simple watercolour and ink illustration is taken from some of the few remaining flowers of my garden. Heleniums do really well in our garden and stay so long, so I’m always snipping them and displaying them around the house to make them last longer. I wonder how long they will last.

Posted on September 19, 2016 by ellajohnston12

Monday moodboard: Autumn

Rich, warm and inspired by nature – this week’s moodboard is all autumn patterns and motifs.

I know we’re only in September but this change of season is very exciting for me. Autumn’s natural colour way is a source of inspiration in itself. Rich purples and reds, faded greens, soft creams and burnished bronzes make me feel warm as the colder weather creeps in. The motifs too – poppy heads, falling leaves and feathers, pine cones and woodland animals – are such rich pickings for illustrators and artists. I’ve blocked out a whole three days of drawing this week to dedicate myself to precisely these subjects… Watch this space!

Posted on September 16, 2016 by ellajohnston12 — 1 Comment

Drawing of the week: Feathers

I’m showing you something different for my drawing of the week – not a finished illustration but some ideas I’m playing with at the moment.

I’m in experimental mode this week, playing with different pens and drawing techniques. I often experiment with illustration but rarely share my playful doodles. However as I’m pushing out of my comfort zone I’m happy to show off my working process, and these feathers, with you.

The ‘playing process’ is so much fun. I get super absorbed with making marks and seeing how shapes and colours interact with each other. It’s a great way of thinking out patterns and new projects. I’m currently obsessed with feathers – they are a recurring theme for me and an effective way to free up my line and play with colour and shape.

Posted on September 13, 2016September 12, 2016 by ellajohnston12

Simple pleasures: garden rose

Forgive me. I couldn’t resist sharing a picture of this beautiful rose snipped from our garden. It’s just so soft, peachy and pretty.
This rose is so delicate and as we experience the last days of the hot weather (well here in Essex at least). I wanted to celebrate the simple pleasures that life can bring us. Sometimes it’s important to notice the small things.

Posted on September 12, 2016 by ellajohnston12

Monday Moodboard: Handwriting

This week’s Monday Moodboard celebrates handwriting.

Handwriting is a passion of mine and ever since I got my first calligraphy set at nine years old, I’ve been perfecting my ‘i’s, ‘f’s and ‘r’s. This has paid off as my handwriting is something I am consistently complemented on and I’ve often been commissioned for feature illustration (see below). Handwriting Boots Health and Beauty, October 2010 During the summer I attended a lot of AW/Christmas 2016 retail shows and at least half of them featured live calligraphy sessions. I’ve also noticed that some of my favourite illustrators are running brush script and calligraphy workshops all over the country. It seems in the world of digital, the tactile, fluid quality of hand-scripted or brush type is still something to be treasured.
With this in mind, I thought I’d do some pieces of my own. You can buy my initial prints at my Not On The High Street shop.