It's good to escape

I have been missing my woodland holiday I went on recently. It was so peaceful to go away with all my loved ones to a quiet week away. I packed my bags, grabbed my scarf, and picked up my camera.

All of us hidden away in the cutest cabin for the week. The weather was so autumn like, with a chill in the air, it rained a little, and the sun shinned and you could smell the autumn leaves. It's so good to escape for a little while.

Wandering through the trees with a coffee in my hand, just searching for the perfect places to take photos. The whole holiday was so relaxing, and just what I needed. We spend so much time running around, seeing people, working, going here and there, we never really have any time to relax. This is what my holiday was, a time to relax and become me again.

Made in Herne Bay summer markets

When I first met David, I never dreamed I would be part of such an amazing group of artists. Herne Bay is a beautiful place, full of culture and joy. After showing my work in a number of galleries I was invited to join Made in Herne Bay. An group of like minded creative makers all based in the wonderful town of Herne Bay. Being a part of this group has strengthened my work as an artist and given me some wonderful friends.

So this summer we planned our Clock Tower Makers Markets. They were held right in front of the Clock Tower at the seafront. We invited other local makers to join for these markets. The weather did shine and we had 3 wonderful days.

I had such amazing feedback about my work. I sold lots and met some great people. The events gave me lots to be positive about within my work.

We had musicians play, children's workshops, plus one day we even had Punch & Judy. Lots for all the family to do and enjoy. We also had delicious local food and coffee for sale.

We have already started planning our Winter market, which is all set for November. Lots of exciting news will be coming soon. Now I need to go and create more work! You can find out more about MIHB on our Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. Just search #MadeinHerneBay!

Autumn is finally here!

Autumn is officially here again. It's that time again to get your giant pile of jumpers out of the jumper again. It's time to order every yummy hot drink from Starbucks. It's time to wrap up warm with your old scarves or maybe even purchase a brand new one. It's time to go looking for beautiful coloured trees and leaves. It's time for cuddles in the evening to keep warm while watching Netflix. It's time to start thinking about Christmas, but before that start watching loads of horror films. Oh and of course go purchase a new bobble hat, or just steal your boyfriends.

Hi! My name is Nicola!

I wanted to re-introduce myself as I'm back on the blogging game, so here goes! Hi! My name is Nicola! Or better known as helloitsnicola on social media. I'm an artist and blogger. I'm a lover of rings, giant jumpers, tea and comic books. I am a true collector. I love to collect toys, postcards, records and cute stationary. I enjoy taking photos and having adventures. Currently living and working in Kent, England.

I created my blog when I was at university a very long time ago. It all started out as a way to document my life because my memory isn't very good! 4 years ago I travelled all the way to Seattle from the UK to meet 7 other bloggers for the first time. We now meet up every year with other bloggers who are a part of our blogging family. I met wonderful friends, visited amazing places and countries through my blog and that's all thanks to blogging.

Then I started using my blog for posting my artwork. Social media really helped me with creating my artwork and defining my style. I started to post snap shots of my desk, sneaky peaks at work in progress, and chosen materials helped me gain confidence. The positive feedback from wonderful bloggers and instagrammers gave me the push I needed to start creating work to sell.

Paper inspires my artwork, from vintage books, to sheet music and cigarette cards. I have always been inspired by the sky. This led to clouds and rain. The raindrop is a beautiful shape and still remains the leading presence in my work. My clouds are very close to my heart because that's where it all started. I have recently started working on brooches based on my current designs which I have been selling at local craft fairs, along with my prints and cards.

When I'm not working on new pieces, I'm going on adventures. Whether that's a little trip to the seaside, walking round a local art gallery or spending a day hoping from tearoom to coffee shop. Sitting down in a quite tearoom with a pretty cup of tea and a new comicbook is simply my idea of heaven.

You can see what adventures I am up to day to day over on my Instagram; www.instagram.com/helloitsnicola

You can also find my paper inspired prints/cards/brooches over in my etsy store; www.etsy.com/NicolaJenningsArt 

Or find me on Twitter; www.twitter.com/NJenningsArt

A weekend in Cardiff

'Let's take a trip to Cardiff!'---- that's a thought I have had for many years. But like anything you things come and go, and important things happen, and you don't end up going, and your heart still wishes for it. Well my wonderful friend Laura recently moved to Cardiff, which of course meant, LETS GO AND STAY!

Laura organised it all, and myself and my uni friends all decided to meet up one weekend. After a crazy train journey I was finally in Cardiff. I was greeted at the station in Welsh by some lovely ladies, and then I spotted my friends. They had spent the time waiting for me to guess the colour kanken I had. (I brought my orange one with me). Our first stop was some cute gifts shops and of course a cup of coffee.

I got to wander around Cardiff with my friends, catching up, telling stories, laughing and just having a perfect time. It rained so much. We got soaked, and purchased ice cream while it was raining, like you do.

I visited lots of Doctor Who and Torchwood locations which did make me a little teary. Doctor Who is my favourite show. I have fallen a little out of love with it, but being in Cardiff made me remember how good my favourite show was, and how much I loved it. I also managed to visit the Doctor Who experience, which was very emotional and amazing. I shall save all this for another dedicated blog post. 

We had lots of yummy food and visited cute tearooms for cake. Even though it was still raining, we eat cake and drank tea and just enjoyed all being together.

I'm nearly hitting 10 years of friendship with my wonderful uni friends, and we are planning what to do in our 10th year. It's crazy to think next September it was 10 years ago I started university. Time really does fly when you are surrounded by friends that love and support you.