Dreaming on a Star featured in Sligo Now Magazine

Hello everyone! Dreaming on a Star has been featured in the March issue of Sligo Now magazine. Would you like to have a look inside my home? You are welcome inside!

Dreaming on a Star in Sligo Now magazine

I had a lovely interview with Cliodhna McGowan where she asked me lots of questions about my design business and took photos of me in my home and studio. Read more…

The Creative Life – Listen to your Spirit!

Hi everyone! The last few months, I’ve been feeling disillusioned creatively and today I think I’ve made a breakthrough.

Listen to your Spirit – Words by Fleetwood Mac, Design by Dreaming on a Star by Tina Devins 2016

I got up at 7.30am on my day off to finish this illustration. I know in my heart and soul this is what I want to do. You can have the wildest dreams but life can be harsh and put you in your place.

A creative life is a bittersweet life – the highs are ecstatic but the lows are deep and dark. I’ve wanted to give up so many times but something keeps calling me back.

To borrow another’s words, ‘I’d rather fail at something I love than succeed at something I hate.’

Listen to your spirit – what is it telling you?

This post is dedicated to other creatives – I feel your pain but I share your joy! ♡

(The illustration was inspired by Fleetwood Mac and the boundless sea & sky and is available for sale in my Etsy Print shop. Thank you ♡)

Greetings Cards

Hi everyone, I have been busy designing new Greeting Cards for all occasions – Birthday, New Baby, Wedding, Love, Thank You & Christmas.

Greeting Cards by Dreaming on a Star 2015

I really enjoyed making these. I love designing typography and drawing quirky doodles. Read more…

Family Tree for Father’s Day

Hi everyone! I made a Family Tree for my Dad for Father’s Day.

My Dad’s Family Tree by Dreaming on a Star

Instead of including his children & grandchildren, I made it of his parents, his siblings and their children.
Dad is the youngest of 7 (a typical Irish Catholic family of the time!). He lost his Dad when he was 24. His sister died a few years ago and his other sister isn’t very well at the moment.
Unfortunately some of the cousins & in-laws are also no longer with us.
But this isn’t meant to be a sad post!

He was really happy with it. He spent hours looking at it!
I couldn’t believe it really!

I think as you get older, you comprehend what family actually means. The siblings that you climbed trees & shared rooms with are grown up and have families of their own.
You can see the endless cycle of life reaching back behind you and stretching out in front of you.
And you cherish the memories of those people that are no longer there but are all still a part of your family.
It was really lovely to give Dad a gift that meant so much to him. ♡

[If you would like to order your own Family Tree, Click here]

FREEBIE – Gratitude Journal Cards

Hi everyone. Today is FREEBIE day! You may recall me talking about Gratitude before and how important it is to have it in our lives – this post might refresh your memories!
Well today as gratitude to you lovely people, I have four FREE Journal Cards for you to download!

FREEBIE – Gratitude Journal Cards by Dreaming on a Star

Read more…

Have Gratitude for your Life!

Hi everyone. I’ve been reading lots of inspirational books lately and one thing that keeps cropping up, is cultivating a sense of gratitude in your life. Do you have gratitude in your life?

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Read more…

Dreaming on a Star’s Super Fun FREEBIE!

Hi everyone. Today I’d like to thank my followers with a FREEBIE – as a thank you for reading my blog, buying my products, following my goings on and being a fan of Dreaming on a Star!

♡ ♡ FREEBIE ♡ ♡

FREEBIE – Dreaming on a Star Book Labels

Brighten up your books and copies with these super fun book labels!

They are 6 labels that you can print out and stick to your school/college books or to your journal.

Just print onto full page sticker paper, cut out and stick to your books. (You can also print on normal paper, cut out and glue to your books, if you don’t have sticker paper.)

 Click here to download the Freebie. ♡

Print, Pattern and Philosophy!

Hi everyone. Last week my work was featured on  the esteemed Print & Pattern blog – the world’s no. 1 blog for surface pattern design. I was so honoured to be featured alongside all the amazing artists. I have dreamt about this moment for years and being featured made me take a little walk through memory lane!

As you may know I graduated with a degree in Interior Architecture – a creative but tough design discipline.  I loved it, but as the years progressed I realised designing an entire building from structure down to fixtures & fittings was a massive undertaking. Your concept amounted to about 10% of the design, the other 90% was trying to make your concept work. Spatial planning, ergonomics, restrictive planning regulations, feasibility studies, construction, etc all needed to fit in with your concept. There seemed to be very little creativity at the end of the day.

I had a bit of a crisis after graduation. Not only was it the start of the Recession but the building industry in Ireland had collapsed. I lost my confidence as a designer after a disastrous final year.  (I had also planned on studying Production Design for TV & Film after my degree but this course was discontinued.)

I wanted to get my design mojo back and I wanted to figure out what exactly I wanted to do.

I had always had a dream of seeing my designs on wallpaper or stationery. But it remained a dream. Surface Pattern Design was unheard of in Ireland. I had travelled and lived in other countries but I never came across the actual name for it before.

I had never thought that there was a dedicated profession for this type of design. I thought perhaps wallpaper was designed by an interior designer, stationery by a graphic designer and textiles by a fashion designer.

And then one day I heard of the Print & Pattern book, bought it and then followed the amazing Print & Pattern blog. It was a revelation to me. This is it! Surface Pattern Design. There’s a name for it!

Print & Pattern Book 1 and 2

Around this time I had started an Art & Design course. I couldn’t get full time work in Interior Architecture and my part-time work wasn’t particularly creative. I also needed to build up my confidence. My illustration tutor Eva Byrne was an amazing mentor. She encouraged and supported me, and inspired me to reach for the stars.

So I finished the course, did the Art & Business of Surface Pattern Design course (seen the ad for it on the Print & Pattern blog!) and worked away on my designs. All the while dreaming that one day I would be featured on the Print & Pattern Blog! 

Print & Pattern Blog Feature

I was over the moon to be featured! I was excited and honoured. Incidentally the Buzzy Bees pattern you can see above came from a papercut design I did for Eva a few years ago.

Papercut

I finally feel like I am on the right course! Maybe I am being overly philosophical (or pompous – forgive me, if it sounds that way), but it feels like a rite of passage.

I would like to dedicate this blogpost to all my tutors and mentors that believed in me, that gave me encouragement and support, that never thought a dream was too big or too outrageous! (I’m thinking of my woodwork tutor, Danny McGeever who didn’t bat an eyelid when I wanted to make a full size throne from a kids TV programme!)

Thank you all ♡

I Won a Moon Rabbit T-shirt!

Hi everyone. I entered a competition a few weeks ago ran by Kirsten Miller of Moon Rabbit Design, and I was lucky enough to win!

Moon Rabbit Design

So last week I got a package in the post and look what was inside:

Pretty Packaging

Such a pretty parcel, wrapped up with lovely Moon Rabbit ribbon and a lovely sticker.

Read more…

Happy New Year!

Hi everyone. 2013 is just around the corner and I hope it has exciting things in store for you. I have big plans for 2013 and I hope Dreaming on a Star gets bigger and better. I would like to thank everyone again for supporting me in all my endeavours. Happy New Year ♡

Happy New Year