I love this hypnotic stop-motion of growing mushrooms. Just a little reminder that magic can happen overnight! x

If you have the patience and dexterity to try making them for yourself you can buy her creature patterns and kits from her website. Who wouldn't want a teeny ebi sushi of their own?-- If only I had paid more attention when my granny tried to teach me how to knit! x

One of my favourite pastimes is seeking out new illustrators online, there's nothing quite like stumbling across something that's just your cup of tea.  I'm a big fan of Emily Martin's blog (The Black Apple) and her whimsical paintings. Her bandit children, freak-show performers and melancholic woodland creatures have a curiously cute and gothic old-world charm. There is a story within each of the deceivingly simple compositions of Emily's paintings and I find myself daydreaming about the origins and lives of her subjects. Here is just a small sample of what she has on offer in her etsy shop:

Emily has also just published a book based on a series of her paintings titled  Oddfellow's Orphanage. The book chronicles the experiences of Delia, a new arrival at an orphanage inhabited by some very unusual children including an onion-headed boy and a tattooed girl.

At this orphanage of the odd and abandoned, Delia discovers the joys of Cryptozoology, Fairy Tale Studies and a sea monster-sighting field trip! Visit the Oddfellow's website for a glimpse into Emily's world of the endearingly weird and magical! x

My latest browsing ground for illustration envy is the amazing online community Pixiv.net. Pixiv is the Japanese equivalent of DeviantART for anime and manga, where amateur and professional illustrators post a wide scope of styles that demonstrate the diverse possibilities of digital art. I have a personal penchant for the soft, cinematic style illustrations with lots of detail and the cho kawaii animal portraits. Here are some of my latest discoveries...