I made my first washi tape!

I made my first washi tape! and it is now available! Of course my first design is fluffy pollen-dusted bumblebees. For anyone who isn't familiar with washi: it is a Japanese-style paper-based decorative tape, usually made from rice paper and printed with soy-based inks, making it eco friendly as well as pretty. It's mainly used for gift-wrap, packaging, and things like journals and scrapbooking.

I'm so happy with the quality - the print is sharp, the paper is strong and lovely, and the adhesive is very sticky! It's got me thinking what design to do next...

Available in my online shop, amyholliday.co.uk/shop and etsy!

white bumblebee bee washi tape being held in hands in front of a green and white flowering bush

New Online Shop is Open!

The “shop” link has been updated - I now have my very own shop!

Having my own space for online selling has been something I’ve dreamed about for years. It feels so nice to finally have it set up and filled with lots of lovely items.

My shop is still open on Etsy, and I will continue to add to it, however it will no longer be linked to this website. My own “official” shop will have lower prices and sometimes exclusive items for sale.

I offer high quality signed prints of my work, signed books I’ve illustrated, keyrings & charms, stickers, jewellery and other goodies, with a focus on making products that are planet-friendly: made from recycled materials, sourced as local as possible, packed in 100% recyclable packaging.

It is also a huge pleasure to be able to include a charity donation from the sale of some items. (This will be done with the help of Work for Good.)

amyholliday.co.uk/shop

"Bees" D3 Iconic Slim Style Hairbrush | Denman x Amy Holliday

I was absolutely thrilled to learn that Denman love my bumblebee pattern so much they decided to print it on a second style of brush, their original “D3” slim styling brush.

This style has a glossy finish to it (where the paddle brush has a textured matte finish) so its nice to see how the print works printed on the different materials.

As with the first paddle brush, a donation of 5% from each sale goes directly to bee conservation charity: The World Bee Project. Its wonderful to be able to help support such a fantastic organisation who are doing wonderful work to help protect our bee species.

I now have a small amount of these for sale in my new shop!

A Bumblebee Hairbrush | Denman x Amy Holliday

I've teamed up with UK hairbrush brand Denman to create a fluffy bumblebee-patterned brush! 

A donation of 5% of each sale goes directly to bee conservation charity: The World Bee Project. 

The hairbrush is covered in a pattern featuring my fluffy bumblebee illustrations!

The brush is available to buy via the UK and US Denman websites - and I also have some available from my own Etsy shop: here :)

I illustrated a jigsaw puzzle!

I was commissioned by small British puzzle business, “Bloom Puzzles” to create a series of garden illustrations that evoke a warm summer's day spent pottering in an English country garden, enjoying the scents of the garden in full bloom and listening to the gentle buzz of the bees.

There was over 50 individual elements to illustrate, including a larger “potting shed” centrepiece illustration, lettering for the title and hand-drawn flower name annotations.

“The Potting Shed” puzzle is available now from www.bloompuzzles.co.uk and limited edition prints of “The Potting Shed” are available in my shop.

Countdown to "The Honey Book" release!

I was lucky enough to work with the wonderful HarperCollins publishers again to illustrate a second non-fiction book - this time all about HONEY! To celebrate, I put together a collection of some of my older honey illustrations - I’ve done a few!

The Honey Book is out 29th April 2021 in all good bookstores and online

I also have illustrator signed copies in my shop!

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Q&A with Zap!Creatives


I recently did a little Q&A with UK based merch company Zap! Creatives (the awesome company I've been making acrylic charms and holographic stickers with), check it out if you'd like to know more about me and behind the scenes of my little business.

I talk about running a freelance business, my background and inspirations, the products in my shop, and more.

Read the Q&A HERE


The Little Book of Bees // Book Illustration

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I am super excited to share The Little Book of Bees expertly written by the absolutely lovely Hilary Kearney (aka Girl Next Door Honey) and illustrated throughout by yours truly. It will be available in all major bookstores - and of course available for pre-order now!

"Bees continue to fascinate and charm us all – from novice gardeners and nature-lovers to dedicated environmentalists – and today, bees need our help more than ever. Discover the story of these incredible creatures, with The Little Book of Bees.

Bees first appeared on Earth an incredible 130 million years ago. Since the time of the dinosaurs, evolution has taken our beloved bees on an incredible journey – and today, there are 20,000 species on the planet. 

The Little Book of Bees is a lovely, informative book of all things bee - from evolution and communication, to honey, beekeeping, and saving the bees - all in a beautifully illustrated gift book. Perfect for apiarists, Queen Bees, nature-lovers and bee enthusiasts everywhere."

UK preorder from Waterstones 

US preorder direct from Girl Next Door Honey

Dinosaur height chart // Talltape

Recently, I was thrilled to work with London-based company "Memories of Growing Up" who asked me to design a tall tower of 30 individual, characterful dinosaurs for their “Talltape” range.

“Talltape, the portable children’s height chart, helps you to keep an on-going record of your child’s height from birth all the way to adulthood. The perfect alternative to recording measurements on a wall or door, Talltape won’t get left behind or painted over – it just stays with you. As featured in the Daily Mail, New York Metro Parents and Baby London Magazine.“

Each dinosaur is unique and annotated by hand with his/her scientific name. I had a lot of fun designing it! I aimed to include a broad variety of dinosaur species, so that children can discover the wide spectrum of different types. They are all (approximately!) sized to scale in comparison to one another. 

The dino Talltape is available to buy in my online Etsy shop now. Find it here!

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The National Trust Book of Scones

Some months ago I was approached by UK publisher Pavilion books who asked me to illustrate 6 variations on the classic scone for their upcoming "Book of Scones". 

The pocket-sized book by Sarah Clelland includes 50(!) scone recipes alongside information on many National Trust places to visit. I wasn't aware so many kinds of scones existed!  

Here are my renditions of the classic jam and cream scone, chocolate "rocky road", summer fruit, festive mince-pie scone, savoury cheese, and sweet honey. 

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"History is best enjoyed with a scone, as everyone who’s visited a National Trust house knows. This book brings you the best of both. Scone obsessive Sarah Clelland has gathered 50 – yes 50 – scone recipes from National Trust experts around the country. And she’s written a quirky guide to 50 National Trust places to delight and entertain you while you bake or eat those blissful treats. Eccentric owners, strange treasures, obscure facts – it’s all here.

Whip up a Triple Chocolate scone while you read about the mechanical elephants at Waddesdon Manor. Or savour an Apple & Cinnamon scone while you absorb the dramatic love life of Henry Cecil of Hanbury Hall. Marvel at a Ightham Mote’s Grade 1 listed dog kennel while you savour a Cheese, Spring Onion and Bacon scone. 

50 of the best scones in history. And 50 of the best places to read about. You’ll never need to leave the kitchen again."

The National Trust's Book of Scones is available in shops and online now!

Artists & Illustrators Feb 2017 // Pocket Painting Guide

This month's issue of "Artists & Illustrators" includes a free pamphlet full of art-improving tips - featuring artwork by me! I was asked to create a cover design for the little guide and had free rein to have fun and add my own "flair" - obviously it turned out to be very enjoyable to do.  

The idea was to create a messy, busy and energetic front cover reflecting the contents to be bursting with creative tips and tricks. I illustrated each element as an individual object before scanning and reassembling the design digitally. The single illustrations were also used as chapter headers.

The guide is beautifully designed and is indeed bursting with helpful advice - I've already discovered a few things I didn't know and plan to keep it handy for future reference.

The Artists & Illustrators February 2017 issue featuring the Pocket Painting Guide is available NOW in Tesco and Sainsburys store around the UK!

Fluffy, Fat, Festive little Robins

Happy 2017! Things have been quiet on the blog lately - oops! I haven't been able to post much for the last few months as most things aren't due to be published until later THIS year! Hopefully I can share more soon.

Here are some fat little festive robins I did for fun over the holidays :) 

Stylist Magazine // The Summer of Craft Beers (1 of 2)

Last week's issue of Stylist Magazine featured the article "The Summer of Craft Beers" - and if you saw it then you might have noticed that the illustrations were all done by yours truly! I was asked to provide my own take on some of the season's trendiest independently-brewed beers, as well as a full opening page design with a very feminine and ornate beer bottle. 

The opening title page was very fun to design and paint. The brief required it to be feminine and decorative - so of course I let loose on a very pretty, girly beer label!

All artwork (C) Amy Holliday 2016. Please do not use without seeking prior permission. 
To see more from this project please visit the work section of the site. 

POWER SAUCE by Essentis Berlin // Packaging Illustration for Organic Chilli Sauce

This week I had the pleasure of working with lovely people behind "Essentis" - a new brand created by chef Nicolas Petrucci. The brand "Essentis" shares its name with the popular biohotel in Berlin where Nicolas is head chef. Their first product is a pro-biotic and organic chilli-based sauce named "Power Sauce" and I was asked to create some vibrant chilli and mango-inspired artwork to adorn the product labels.

The initial inspiration came from my own chilli pepper painting, which I used as a base to add more colourful watercolour splashes to make it that little bit more exciting(!) and painted new mango slices to match. As you can probably tell, this was a lot of fun to do.

Essentis Biohotel - http://essentisbiohotel.de/en/

 Artwork (C) Amy Holliday 2016

Photography (C) Essentis by Nicolas Petrucci 2016

Pattern Design // Honey Bees & Bumble Bees

As a little side project I've been working towards perfecting the art of "repeat patterns", which I hope will help me create a variety of decorative fabrics and products with my illustrations. Some of the first I've put together are based on this small series of pollen-dusted bee paintings. Let me know if you like them.

Fluffy Bumble Bees

And I couldn't create a bee pattern without an iconic Honey Bee. I wanted this one to be quite symmetrical to form a more uniform pattern. 

And just for fun, a FAT bumble bee!

Artwork (C) Amy Holliday 2016