Happy Easter 2013!

Wishing you all a delicious Easter!

I'm going to hang about in the the hydrangeas 

and 

lounge amongst the Lamb's Ear.

With love,

Ruby xo

Studio news & a scrumptious cake

We've had such a busy week in the studio! Kate has been capturing my likeness with a rainbow of colours. This modelling work can make a hare quite famished, so I've included a delicious link for Jamie Oliver's classic sponge with lashings of strawberry goodness.

Time to hand over to Kate for her book update below.

Ruby x

Book news with Kate

This last fortnight I’ve been diving further and further into Ruby’s world, slowing down to a pace where it may take an hour for Ruby to choose what to wear or two days to pencil in a flight of stairs. Practicing patience and perspective!

So the book begins in the caravan as Ruby and Babushka prepare for their holiday. Ruby’s packing her suitcase and saying farewells to her chickens. They're saying farewell in French ... any guesses where she's going?

x Kate

image via jamieshomecookingskills.com

I just love strawberry jam, and this feathery sponge by Mr Jamie Oliver (who I also love with a big red heart) has double the scarlet goodness—jam AND fresh strawberries. Perfect for an afternoon break with a pot of tea after a busy morning of outfit changes and posing for Kate in the studio!

You can get the recipe and a step-by-step guide here, and you can also watch a video — I found this particularly helpful!

Ruby x

There's a book in the oven ...

Kate and I are busily working on the next Ruby Red Shoes book (Kate is painting and I am posing for her), so we thought it would be fun to have you all on board and watch as the book comes to life. Have your sea legs on though as the journey through a book deadline can get a little bit rocky... Ruby x

A word from Kate ...

The storyboard is finished and I have a deadline for the end of May. It’s me, two hares and some of their varied acquaintances for three months.

The first page stares at me with a very blank expression. The first page stare off—a test of wills. I fix my eyes to the page and wait until my characters decide to enter their stage on a page. Just like ghosts moving through walls they emerge from nowhere. I breathe patience and calm so as not to spook them. Once they’ve arrived, I pencil in where I see their fuzzy outlines and they’re captured—immortalised on paper, breathing and talking and posing!

Then the questioning begins. What are you doing Ruby? What do you want to wear today? What’s the weather like? Babushka Galushka tells me she’s shelling peas. Ruby is highly excitable and wants a blue dress with white spots '...but Cobalt Blue, not French Ultramarine Blue'. It’s wonderful to see her again so full of beans. In this story we leave their idyllic caravan and travel somewhere fabulous. This journey has just begun ... more soon!

x Kate