Little Miss Delicious

Yes it certainly is about time I wrote a new post.
Well this is just a mini one to direct you to another blog, that of the wonderful Maxine aka Little Miss Delicious who makes the cutest jewellery i've seen.
This lovely lady has not only modeled my t-shirts for me, which shamefully i've not yet managed to find the time to put them on Folksy (will soon), but she has also written this lovely post about my work and i feel honored.
Please check out the post by clicking here and take a look at Little Miss D's super cute food inspired creations here: http://www.littlemissdelicious.com/

I will be writing a new post soon which will explain all about the adventures i've had and will be having with the empty shop project Made In Newcastle.
Its been an amazing time but very, very busy and its slowly but surely taking over my life. Will update you soon i promise.

I'm still here

Howdy friends.
I've been slacking off in my blogging activities recently as i'm in the process of making up a big wholesale order of stock for a craft shop.
Which is great, but if i have to make another glasses case i think i may lose the will to live!
Ha ha, no its not all that bad really, but i needed a break from the making so decided to create some party invitations for some respite. Yeah i know, its not exactly a break from the making, but its not sewing.
Sew, (puns ahoy)... here they are (front & back):


I'll be selling these little babies at the Made In Newcastle Shop, 22 Nun, City Centre, Newcastle Upon Tyne. Only £4.50 for ten invitations with envelopes, that's only 45p each - BARGAIN!

So if you're having a birthday bash, a summer garden party or celebrating your new home, these are for you. No one will be able to resist your invitation when you send out one of these little babies.

Hopefully once i've finished slaving away at my sewing machine and got the order finished, i'll get a chance to make up a couple more packs for my website or Folksy shop. I the mean time though if you want to grab a pack please feel free to request by email - lucyfarfort@yahoo.com

Bye for now!

The Sewing Directory Giveaway

The lovely people over at The Sewing Directory are having a giveaway in which myself and 4 other designer-makers are offering a lovely handmade prize to 5 lucky winners. I'm giving away this one off 'Robot Love' vinyl ring-handled shopper bag, made with recycled vintage fabric (pictured above).

This is a fab giveaway with some really nice bits up for grabs. The only annoying thing is that i can't enter myself!

Ah well if you're feeling lucky get yourself over there and find out how you can win:
http://www.thesewingdirectory.co.uk/handmade-competition/

Fashionistas read on

I've not managed to write in a while as my time has been filled with lots of little jobs.

One of the best little jobs was to produce a banner (above) for the fashion blog of Carla Benstead aka Messy Carla.
Carla emailed me a couple of weeks ago to ask if i could design a new banner for her wonderful blog and i was honoured. 'Messy Carla: A Fashion Blog in a Size 16', is a fashion blog with a difference as it caters to the luscious curvy lady (real women), moving away from the fading trend of emaciated models and the frightening size 0 phenomenon.

Its a great little read with tips on how to look great and reviews on the latest trends and products. Anyway don't rely on my word for it follow Messy Carla's fashion adventures here: http://messycarla.blogspot.com/

I'm really pleased with the banner as is Carla. Its going to look fab when its up and i've also made her some funky new wallpaper for her blog. Here's one version of it as a sneak preview:

Packed to the rafters

The Made in Newcastle pop up shop launch party last Sat (10th July) was a resounding success.
It was packed with shoppers, creative types, media types and supporters. Here's the evidence:

The fashion show was fab and the cafe area wall which we used for the doodle jam is looking suitably doodled on.
All i can say is awesome! I'm very much looking forward to going in next Saturday.
To read more on the launch and other MIN news check out the blog:
VISIT THE MADE IN NEWCASTLE BLOG

The secret world of Ravenswood school garden

So heres the story about how i spent two days with a class of fantastic kids creating a fantasy map of their garden (above).

Back in late April I had a email from Paul Hood the teacher of a year six class at Ravenswood Primary School, asking if I would be interested in working with his class to produce a mural for their garden wall. I had been suggested to him by a lovely lady who is a fan of my work on Facebook (thanks Hannah). I was very pleased to be asked although i hadn't done anything like this before.
I went to visit the school in June and was inspired. Its a large school and they have so much going on including loads of funky clubs the children can get involved in. One of them is the Ukulele Club - so cool!

They also have the Gardening Club who tend to the huge school garden that was developed from a piece of overgrown waste land by Mr Hood a few years ago. The garden is around an acre and is almost split into different sections - a wild area, a herb garden, a story telling area and a pond to name a few. The wall is East facing, approx 3 by 4 metres and i was charged with coming up with something original and something that the kids could get involved with to put on it.
The idea of creating a fantasy/treasure map of the garden popped into my head, whilst i was reading the novel Wicked, as there is a map of Oz at the front of the book. It got me thinking - wouldn't it be great if the kids could come up with a fantastical imaginative name for each area of their garden and it could forever more be known by that moniker.

Paul loved the idea & the kids came up with the following aliases for their garden sections:

• the pond - The Black Sea
• the hedge running along the east side of the garden - Wild Rabbit Hedge
• the wild bit - Hunter's Cove
  
• the yurt/den - Samuel's Cabin
• the herb garden - Horrible Herbs (initially horrendous herbs but was too long to fit)
  
• the veg patch - Potato Paradise
• the bridge - Banshees Boardwalk
• the stepping stones which snake round - Serpent Stones
• the greenhouse - The Hut of No Return
• the palm tree area - Treasure Island

I went in to work with them all on a very hot Tuesday & Thursday in late June.
The kids worked in 2 or 3s on a particular section and each group came up with an illustration to define their area. A problem that we encountered was as the wall surface was incredibly rough it was v difficult to get a lot of detail into the images.
We managed though and the finished article looks wonderful i think.
The School now have a mural that they can say is completely original and I hope that kids can be heard out in the garden saying things like 'I'll water the tomatoes in the Hut of No Return, while you feed the fish in the Black Sea'.

Thanks Paul Hood and your fantastic year six class for a great 2 days :)

New User Friendly Website Shop

Just a quickie to let you know i've been making some changes to my online shop.
Quite a lot of of the feedback from my giveaway survey a couple of months ago pointed towards the shop being a bit confusing due to excessive imagery and it being slow to load.

Therefore i have given it a bit of an overhaul. I've made it more simple visually so you don't go cross eyed. +
There are now thumbnails of each item on the shop sections which you can click on individually to take you to the full size pic of item. This means that its a lot quicker for the shop pages to load. +
I've added a secondary navigation system so rather than going back to the shop menu you can go direct to a different category.

Hope you like the changes.
Please take a quick look and let me know what you think: Go directly there to take a sneaky peek

Made in Newcastle Pop-Up Shop, Gallery & Cafe

A month ago I was asked if I wanted to take part in a collaboration between artists and makers in Newcastle to set up a 6 month pop-up shop, gallery and café in an empty shop space. Of course I said 'YES!' Now the project is well under way and soon to be open to the public.

Here's how it works - we were granted funding from Newcastle City Council to help set up a shop which showcases the work of local makers and designers and offers them a platform to sell from. Designers get the chance to have their work on sale in the shop for no commission in return for contributing time or skills to the project.
There are now around 10-15 people involved so far and its growing.
Take a look at some photos of the shop space here. Its pretty bare at the moment, but the furniture is arriving and believe me there has been some serious charity shopping taking place and some of the display pieces are retrotastically awesome!

The shop will be launched on Sat 10th July and there will be a fashion show, an art jam and a swap as part of the launch, so its going to be 'mint' (as they say in Newcastle). Please visit the blog for more info on the project and check out the flyer (and logo above) which I produced for Made in Newcastle here: www.madeinnewcastle.blogspot.com

Oh yeah and don't forget to join us if you're on Facebook.

Its All Go

This month i’ve have been up to all sorts of things illustrations wise

In early June i completed an illustration commission to produce 4 images of Newcastle Upon Tyne landmarks for the Albatross Backpackers Inn website.

I was asked to do 4 funky modern illustrations of the Angel of the North, the Tyne Bridge, the Sage Gateshead and the Millenium Eye Bridge.
The images are now being used as a skyline for the background of the hostel’s site check them out here: http://www.albatrossnewcastle.co.uk/ Last week i was working with a class of school kids and their teacher Mr Hood at Ravenswood Primary School, to help produce a mural for their garden wall. I was very excited to be offered the opportunity to do this. It’s not something I have done before and I jumped at the chance.

The kids are 10-11 years old and they were all great and so polite. The brief was pretty open and the only requirements for the mural was that it be original and something that the kids could take part in.

I'd been reading the novel 'Wicked' and it was this that inspired me to come up with idea of producing a treasure style map of the garden area, as there is a simple map of 'Oz' at the front of the book. The school have a BIG garden which is kind of split up into different sections, so I asked the kids to come up with fantastical names for each bit. I loved the idea of areas of the garden forever more being referred to by its alternative name. Such as 'Hut of No Return', 'Hunters Cove' and 'The Black Sea' to name a few.

The mural is nearly finished and the photos will be up put on here once its complete.

Now the other thing i've been working on is sooo exciting that i'm going to put it in a separate post so read on...

Whats New?

Hello dear followers. This Sunday is market day and i'll be taking myself and a whole load of stock along with some shiny new items (photos above/below), to the Make and Mend Market.

There will be 20 creative types (including me) along with 2nd hand traders from 12noon - 5pm at the Star and Shadow Cinema in Newcastle. The venue is in the district of Ouseburn, about 10 mins walk from Newcastle city centre. The bar will be open for drinks and entry is free.

I also now have some of my artwork and pouches in 'Between the Buttons Vintage', a lovely little shop on Vine Lane just off the main high street in Newcastle.
There is also some very exciting news on the horizon...all i'll say is - 'pop up shop'. More info to come.

Lady Luck

The lucky giveaway winner has been plucked from my boyfriends sweaty baseball cap.. tee hee.

Congratulations Katie Deacon! You are now the proud owner of a 'Robot Love' shopper bag, a handmade notepad and pencil case and a Whale and Me A3 print. I'm packing their bags and sending them on their way to you very soon.

Thanks to all those who entered and took my survey and signed up for my new newsletter. The feedback recvd was really useful and i will be making some improvements to my site based on your answers.

Keep your eyes open for future offers and giveaways!

Logo a go-go

Yesterday i finished this logo for the wonderful Dolls and Molls an independent business who offer a fab range of kitsch and quirky accessories and jewellery.
Emily the founder was really pleased with the final logo and i am to. I love doing this kind of work its always a joy to do especially when it for another indie designer like myself.

I also recently finished the logo above for Puzzle Heaven, a new business who are currently working on their brand spanking new website as we speak. This great little shop offer handmade wooden puzzles. I've had the pleasure of trying one out and believe me they're virtually impossible ...well for me anyway :)

Right onto the next project.

Summer Fun

Summer is almost upon us, although i must say it doesn't feel like it today in Newcastle.
However despite the crap weather i still feel summery and i have created a suitably bright and breezy poster for the 6th June Make and Mend Market.
I'm really pleased with this poster, its definitely one of my faves - think i must be on about number 12 now. Better still the ice-cream and lolly design is going to make a perfect addition to some of my products. Et Voila!:

The June installment of our beloved craft, art & flea market will be from 12 - 5pm in the Star and Shadow Cinema in out favourite arty suburb of Ouseburn. I'll be at this one selling my wares - pouches, art, glasses cases and the such like.
Check out the market's Facebook group for more info.

Green fingered

This week i found a really great website: http://www.greeneyed.com which runs an ongoing design competition a bit like Threadless and those t-shirt design sites. This however has a difference its a contest to find a design for eco-friendly cotton shopper bags. A great idea i think as a play on the ongoing contest model which always works so well.
Well i just couldn't resist the opportunity to submit something so here it is below and if you get a chance please (please, please) visit and register your vote here for my design 'Its good to be green'.

Print, cut, pin, sew, done!

I've allocated the next few weeks to making some new items for two new stockists which i'm really pleased to have recently acquired in Newcastle and South Shields, North East of England.

My first new stockist is a cute little vintage shop called 'Buttons Vintage Boutique' in Newcastle city centre. From here i'll be selling my t-shirts and framed prints. I'll also be adding a selection of pouches and purses which have been made exclusively for the shop using some new fabric combinations.
The second shop is part of an art centre and gallery in South Shields. Here i'll be stocking some prints and pouches also made especially for the shop.

At the moment i've yet to put anything in as i need to get busy and make the new bits so it will be a couple of weeks before my pieces go to their new home. In the meantime i thought i would give you a sneaky peak at 4 new pouches i've created for this purpose as pictured above. I hope you like them.

Right, back to the sewing machine.

Dos thairbaytha por favor (two beers please)

Well the holiday is over and the gray skies of Newcastle Upon Tyne are back, but i knew it couldn't last forever and despite coming back to reality with a bump it was well worth it.
Had a fantastic adventure filled holiday where half the time was spent eating and drinking copious amounts of delicious food and fine wine and the other half i was Indiana Jones minus the bull whip.

The holiday was on the back of a friend's wedding in the beautiful historic town of Vejer in Sapin. We decided to extend our time away and visit the town of El Chorro to get in some crag climbing. The first day began with a 1 & 1/2 hour long traverse around a huge gorge on a "walkway"(in the loosest possible sense) called the Via Ferrata, most of which had crumbled away over the years and involved clipping onto a rope from a harness. This was followed with an unexpected and rather unpleasant knee high wade through a river. Once we'd finally reached our destination we spent a few hours climbing a limestone crag which was severely worn down and very slippery. On the way back we opted for a much shorter trek back through the gorge via the train tunnels. Phew!
Actually i do feel refreshed after the break and despite the clambering up and down rock faces i'm rearing to go....aside from a few aching limbs.

Rather annoyingly and stupidly i left my swiss army penknife complete with scissors and other useful gadgets in my hand luggage and this was swiftly binned by the airport security after being spotted under the x-ray - I'll miss that handy bottle opener and corkscrew :(

Away for a...break?

That word.. er break. Whats that then?
Wow it feels like i've been non stop working since Christmas and i've almost forgotten what its like not to work.
However at last the time has come for this work-a-holic to have a holiday. My friend is getting married in Spain and me and my better half have decided to make it a holiday and go climbing afterwards in nearby El Chorro for 3 days.
We're off tomorrow, so any of you lovely folks entering my giveaway will experience a delay in receiving a confirmation email. I promise i'll reply once i get back around the 16th.

Thanks to everyone who has entered so far.
Bye for now x

The Super Giveaway and site updates

The prize draw is now open!
At last i hear you say. Thats exactly what i said in response to the fact its only taken me a solid month to finally sort everything out and launch my first giveaway :/

Still it was worth the wait i think you will agree once you see whats up for grabs. I was debating for a while whether or not keep the robot bag for myself, but decided that instead i'll just make one up in the future - in that parallel universe where i have lots of that thing er what do you call it again? Oh yeah 'time' . Ha ha.

Anyway to find out how you can enter and what you could win get yourself over to my website now and head to the prize draw page which i've made especially:
http://www.lucyshappyplace.com/

A well as launching my first prize draw you might notice a change to my opening page. In keeping with the cute i've done a new illustration entitled Lucy's Happy Place which is my new opening page as well as a very lovely (er yes i am biased) new note pad which you can see on the shop page of my site and i've taken a moment to add below:

I'm also having a big bag sale on my website shop to sell off the last few bags i have in stock. The bags on offer are all one offs, never to be repeated again as i'm not making bags as part of my product range anymore because they take an incredibly long amount of time to make.

The last little update is to let you know i have a new system in place for ordering items from my shop which means that people can purchase an item in the shop from a verified website such as Ebay or Etsy, as i understand that some people are a bit hesitant to buy an item from a relatively new site. To find out more see the delivery and order info section on my shop page.

Well thats all for now folks.
Thanks for watching and happy Easter break!

Celebrate in style

The Make and Mend Market is now the grand old age of two and to celebrate we’re having an extra special market event this Sunday 28th March. This will be at the new time of 12noon - 5pm in our homeland of the Star and Shadow Cinema, Ouseburn, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 2NP, UK.

We’ll have 20 stalls of goodies for you to feast your eyes on from some of the best creative local talent as well as a host of vintage and 2nd hand traders offering you some retro bargains. Heres a sneaky peek at some of the sellers we’ll have this time round:

• Black Flame books will be in residence with a huge variety of 2nd hand literature for all you book worms out there.
• Pinnies for Hinnies will be offering their handmade retro chic aprons for the domestic goddess in your life.
• Dolls and Molls offering their super-cute kitsch accesories and jewellery.
• Artist Emma McClaughlin offering her beautiful original artwork.
• Alan Edge will be bringing his great taste in music in the form of all things vinyl.
• Louise Bradley will be setting up shop with her enormous array of uber-cool retro and vintage homeware.
• Vintage fashion from Coco Love Boutique.

As well as the usual fab stalls we’ll also be bringing some nibbley snacky things to get you in the party mood. Plus we also have a number of guest musicians playing which we're really excited about. Phil Tyler & friends will be serenading us with their beautiful brand of alternative folk and we've just had confirmation that Emil Friis from Copenhagen, a wonderful Folk / Blues / Country artist who is currently touring the UK will also be doing a set.
Also we have some members of the Monster Ceilidh Band giving us a tune as well as Staggering' John Lee and his guitar. The bands will be on some time after 2.30pm.

Entry is free as always so people can come see some fantastic bands as well as scope out the local creative talent an grab a 2nd hand retro/vintage bargain.

Visit our Facebook group for more info: http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=8254673140&ref=ts

New t-shirt design and Ammo magazine submission

Yippee! I've finished my new t-shirt design and potential Ammo Magazine submission (just in time for the deadline tomorrow).
The design is called 'Work Together' and i guess the moral is its not the size that matters its what you do with it that counts....ha ha (oo er Mrs).
I hope it doesn't need explaining but in case it does - basically all the little monsters have come together to vanquish the bigger monster who's trying to eat them...or something like that ;)
Hope you like it. Feel free to leave comments i am especially interested to know whether you think the message in the illustration is clear i.e. do you understand what's going on without an explanation.

Sneaky peek at my unfinished tee design

Couldn't resist putting up this preview above of my new t-shirt design which i'm still working on. This is also going to be a submission to Ammo magazine (if its finished in time anyway).

Exciting things to come

These last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind. I've been doing so many things-

• Finished a pencil case tutorial which you can see on: Folksy.
• I've set up shop on Etsy (click to see) which will mainly be selling artwork and my t-shirts.
• Had a stall at Make & Mend Market which was fab. You can see more about it on Facebook.
• Working on a submission for ammo magazine which will also be a new t-shirt design. There will be more info on this to come.
• Done the poster for the next market which is (if i do say so myself) very cute. Here it is:

AND most importantly i'm almost ready to launch my first giveaway which i'm very excited about. There will be a chance for everyone to win the pencil case in my tutorial (mentioned previously) along with a beautiful glossy print of my 'Whale and Me' illustration shown below and a very funky shopper bag which i've customised with my Robot Love design. I actually thought bout keeping it myself ;).

In the next few days i will be posting info about this so keep you eyes peeled and find out how you can be entered into the prize draw.

Tee-Tastic

Images of me posing like a muppet....oh the things i do for art:








Inspired by some photos of Twinkie Chan modelling her t-shirt (check out her fab work on Etsy), i decided to re-take pictures of my t-shirts with me modelling them properly rather than the headless shots i'm currently using on my website
Hence the above photos of me pulling silly poses whilst modelling my tees.

Okay so its not as cool as Twinkie Chan but hey I think it works much better and gives a better idea of what the t-shirts look like on.
Thanks to my dear old Dave for taking the photos on my crappy camera and putting up with me umming and arring and generally being indecisive over the million & 1 (well it certainly felt that way) different shots he took. It was worth it i the end.....it think :/

I would love to hear what you think and whether or not you feel these shots work better than the ones on my site. So please feel free to comment.

Make and Mend Market

Saturday 6th March the lovely little Make and Mend Market will be invading the Grainger Arcade in Newcastle Upon Tyne. We'll be in residence from 9am - 5pm with around 18 stalls from some of the best creative talent alongside some wonderful 2nd hand and vintage traders. So you can avoid all the usual high street dross, pop in and say howdy and possibly pick yourself up something unique or a 2nd hand bargain.
I'll be there selling some of my prints and handmade goodies alongside:

• Dolls and Molls (http://www.dollsandmolls.co.uk/)
• Angelina Charnley offering hand knitted alpaca hats
• Jennifer Lilly bags (http://www.jenniferlillybags.co.uk/)
• Chocolate Mummy with their yummy yum handmade chocolate
• Pet Lamb Patisserie (see their tasty treats here)

Plus loads more great stalls.

Also i'm pleased to announce that the Market is fast approaching it's 2nd birthday and we'll be having an extra special event on the 28th March to celebrate. With some guest musicians/bands to give us a tune or two. Confirmed so far is Phil Tyler and a couple of members of the Monster Ceilidh Band. We'll also have some party nibbles for you to enjoy while browsing the 20+ stalls. This will be at the new time of 12 noon - 5pm at the Star and Shadow Cinema

Heres the new poster below:

Creaturemag banner is up!

Yippee!! My banner is up on the Creaturemag website and the lovely folks over there have written a little article about my work and the Make and Mend Market (on Facebook: here) which i co run and founded.

Creaturemag is an online art magazine which encourages creativity and aims to develop a network of creative people. Its a great read and is very useful in finding out about other creative projects to get involved with. To take a peek at the article and view other Creaturemag news visit http://www.creaturemag.com/
The banner is on rotation with two other wonderful works of art so you may have to click refresh to get the full effect.
Hope you like :)

New glasses cases for Folksy

Just a quick update on my Folksy mini-shop which is fast growing into a not so mini shop ;)
I've added 2 new glasses cases to the fold and a very cute rubber duck sponge bag.
Please take a look on the shop for more details: http://www.folksy.com/shops/lucyfarfort

Heres some pretty pictures, which of course is the best bit -

Critter Banner

FINALLY i have finished my critter banner (as i've just decided to call it) for the online art zine 'Creature Mag'. Been meaning to do one for a while as its an ongoing project they have, but something else always came up and although i probably should have been making up more stuff to sell at my forthcoming market, i just thought screw it this is much more fun.

Not sure when it will be put on the creature mag site as they rotate all the banner submissions, but thought i would post it on here so it can get an airing now.
I have put the initial sketch of the monsters and the finished product for you to view so you can see the transformation and get an idea of how i work.

Sample of original drawings:



Finished banner:

No rest for the wicked

It was a mega busy day yesterday and one of the things i managed to do was create a mini shop on Folksy. It took me ages to decide which to go for Folksy or Etsy but after much umming and arring went for the UK favourite.
My choice was mainly based on reading one of the Folksy forums about which online handmade retailer to go for and one of the things which came up time and time again was that Folksy was friendlier and easier to use. Also after getting into silly arguments with people on Threadless (US based) as oppose to the UK based t-shirt design contest site - Tee Tonic i decided to stay this side of the Atlantic.
I think the enormity of Etsy put me off a little too as my work might just get lost in a sea of creativity.
Anyway please take a look at my Folksy shop, will be adding more stuff soon:
http://www.folksy.com/shops/lucyfarfort

First illy

I've now finished the 1st full illustration of one of the main characters for the up & coming children's story . I've uploaded a cropped version of the full size image as a preview.
Now for the other 19 illustrations....yikes! Keep checking for updates and sneaky glimpses into the story itself.

Victor (rough image)

Good morning. Yesterday saw the start of a massive new project in the shape of doing the illustrations as part of a collaboration on a children's book. The story written by my friend Andy who has been slaving away at it for the last two years is almost ready and its time for me to contribute.
I have decided to publish my progress via this blog. Its is expected that the story and illustrations will finally be ready for submission by this summer, so from now until then i will be updating my blog with the preliminary drawing, partially finished images and maybe even the odd finished illustration (not to spoil the finished thing).
So to start above is the hand drawn original sketch of one of the characters to be the first of many.

Yay!! The Make and Mend Market yesterday was ace. I had visions with it being a cold grey February and all that it would be a quiet one, but i was wrong - it was heaving.
I sold two of my most treasured makes - my hummingbird clutch bag and Lovebird clutch bag (above). I know they've gone to a good home as they were purchased by two very lovely lasses.
I also ate laid my eyes on some of the most superb cakes i have ever seen in the shape of Pet Lamb Patisserie and sampled one of their yummy rocky road bars mm mm mm. I had to really stop myself from getting a chocolate brownie as well, greedy little git that i am.

Thanks to Dave my long suffering boyfriend and chauffeur for once again waking up early to drag me and my stuff to the market. Also not to forget a big thanks for the markets supporters.

Heres some of the new t-shirts i've just finished. Hope you like:

And theres more...

Finally finished adding some new items to my website shop. These funky coasters are 2 of six designs available. Check out www.lucyshappyplace.com/Shopmenu.html and click on the homeware section to see the others.

To zine or not to zine that is the question?

I have a real urge to start a zine and i've been thinking about it for a while now, but there is no way on this earth that i have time.
I've got the title sorted, well actually i've got about 4 different titles that i like, but thats not really much use with0out content.
Anyway i'm thinking maybe i will start an occassional mini zine on the blog. Would mainly be illustrative stuff not much writing. Probably just a series of doodles depicting something i've seen thats amusing (and theres plenty of amusing stuff to be seen in the toon believe me). Please let me know what you reckon, to zine or not to zine that is the question.
Also if anyone knows of any good e-zines out there that they follow i would love to know. Maybe i could get involved in doing work for another zine rather than starting one from scratch.

Right well not that i'm a perfectionist or anything, ahem, but i've made a couple of small amendments to my promo flyer. Heres the final product (i think). Hope you like it.

Hello my one lonely follower..tee hee. Thanks friend :)
I have just finished a new promo flyer above for my work as an illustrator which i intend to distribute far and wide to get the word out that my skills are available for hire. Let me know what you think - be gentle.
Oh you may have noticed too that i have finally got my butt in gear and added a profile picture.