The Highland Cow and the Hare

Hello everyone!

Hope you're all keeping well and that you're all as excited as I am that we're finally in December... The cosy Christmas month!! I already have my advent calendar and fairy lights hung around the living room, and can't wait to get started on the Christmas tree! However, as much as I could go on about Christmas and how excited I am about it for an entire blog post (and likely in the coming weeks I will) that isn't what today's post is actually about. Today, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce to you not just one, but two brand new puffin pals! Or really, I should say Hodgeheg's pals, since they are part of a new section of the range of Puffin Prints that as yet remains nameless, but entails the more land-based and Autmnal selection of wildlife. Now this might just be me, having grown up on a very tourist based island, but personally I tend to associate puffins and the sea with warm, sunny Summer days, ice creams and sand and sailing, trousers rolled up and paddling in knee deep water by the seafront. For this reason, and much as I am (evidently) a year round puffin fan, I thought there was room for some cosier puffin pals, of a fluffier variety, in the range. So along with Hodgeheg and his festive pals, Rockin' Robin and Merry Christmas Deer, I'm going to be introducing two new friends today! The first, some of you may already know from social media, where I asked for some help in naming him. I had many fantastic suggestions, such as Ochaye, Moo Maurice, Rufus, Drew the Moo, Mon McMooface, Rusty, Saint, Morag, Ruby and many more!! However, there was one name in particular that stood out, and so I'd like to formally introduce (for the first time by name, with thanks from Percy's Country Hotel for the suggestion):

Hamish McMoo, the highland cow!

Also, for anyone who may be interested, I actually filmed the making of Hamish and popped the video on my newly found YouTube channel!

Now, there was another name suggestion that I liked a lot, and whilst this highland-cow-naming-process was going on, I was in the middle of creating another new friend. So (thank you to Amy and her sister Grace for the name suggestion, and I hope you don't mind that it isn't actually a cow that you named, but a hare), I would also like to introduce (the as yet unfinished piece): Herbert, the hare!

Stay tuned to my social media and website for updates on his progress! (Also please ignore my doodles and scribblings to the side of him! You wouldn't be interested that one of our puffin mugs weighs exactly 320g, now would you??) I did attempt to film the making of Herbert, but sadly, halfway through filming, I ran out of storage space and didn't realise, and so I have not even half the footage of the process.. I have popped that here anyway though, for those that are interested in a 30 second clip of the strange world of under layers. (And for all those curious souls out there, it's a panda face on my jumper!)

Thanks for keeping up with the alliteration fueled world of my illustrations and I'll see you in seven advent calendar chocolates time, Rachel x