Tag Archives: creative

Oct 12 2022
Leave a comment
Blog Post

FOSP Halloween Village – coming soon

Something wicked this way comes, and when I say wicked I mean seriously fun!

It’s that time of year again! Spooky decorations are going up, the shops are full of costumes and face paints and multi bags of sweets and if you’re anything like me, you’re eyeing up all that cardboard and wondering what creative solution you can come up with.

FOSP (Friends of Springfield Park) is a volunteer group that, unsurprisingly, looks after Springfield Park in Knotty Ash, Liverpool. The park is something of a changeling itself, following the completion of Alder Hey Children’s Hospital a number of years ago, the park space was due to undergo a wonderful transformation before being officially handed back to the community. Well, we’re still waiting. But that doesn’t stop the FOSP gang from providing opportunities for kids to thrive.

Among hundreds of other things, FOSP has built and filled flowerbeds, had accessible benches installed, brought in a permanent ping pong table, planted and grown vegetables, held countless half-term and summer camps and fed more children during truly testing times, for free, than any other volunteer group I know. They’re superheroes. Real-life superheroes.

This October I get the opportunity to mash up two of my favourite things. Supporting FOSP and Halloween. I’ve been commissioned to design, create and run a Halloween Village for 30 children, ages 3 – 10 on Halloween weekend.

The flyer is officially done and booking is officially open. I haven’t seen my kitchen in a fortnight due to all the cardboard, wood, paint, glue and fabric I’ve amassed to start making props and games for the kids to enjoy. Once again the phenomenal, Bay Tree Catering School jumped at the chance to get involved and make pizzas with the kids, while Caroline Moore dons her broomstick to fly in for story time in the ‘witches’ circle. It’ll be a riot, oh and it’s totally free.

Everything I’m making is recyclable. Nothing has been bought brand new. Bootle car boot sale, eBay, friends and neighbours have come up trumps with all the materials we need to entertain the kids for a few hours and help them make some lasting memories.

It goes without saying that my enthusiasm for creative work is never anything less than 100%. Knowing all the work is purely so that kids can have fun and be kids, is the best motivation.

Thank you to Donna and all the team at FOSP who work tirelessly on behalf of our community to make things better for us all.

You can book your place to visit the Halloween Village, now. Details are on the flyer, booking is essential. Hopefully, see you there, don’t forget your broomstick!

Tagged , , , , , , ,
Oct 12 2022
Leave a comment
Blog Post

Back On The Books

It’s official, I’m back on the Self Assessment books and working freelance with a whole host of new clients.

It’s been a pretty difficult year with all the health stuff going on. My HHT pretty much ruined a lot of 2022, a year that was welcomed with so much hope after two years of lockdowns, illness and grief. HHT was waiting in the wings though and so work has been more stress, less growth for a long time.

My last operation took place in mid-August and when the result was a mere four days of relief, I realised something had to change. Managing debilitating symptoms, hospital appointments and your own mental health, plus that of your two daughters AND a full-time job can be hard going. Acknowledging that the HHT isn’t going away, it was work that had to morph.

So here I am. Back On The Books – self-employed and working with a myriad of clients in just a couple of weeks. I’m teaching, I’m creating content and I’m expanding my creative portfolio on an almost full-time basis, but with enough freedom to manage my own hours, and what a difference that makes.

Photo by fauxels on Pexels.com

Post-Covid (although are we really? Hospitals around the country are reporting a rise in cases with the season change so it’s difficult to know), there are a lot of self-employed/freelance opportunities as businesses get to grips with the new hybrid. Should we all be back in the workplace, will WFM be the norm? All I know is that hybrid has opened up doors to work in far corners of the country that otherwise would’ve been inaccessible.

My self-employment is a real mixed bag. I’m teaching, I’m content producing, I’m bid and award nomination writing, I’m managing social media and providing marketing, comms and PR consultancy – all the while creating a Halloween Village in partnership with a local not-for-profit organisation that puts the biggest smiles on kids’ faces!

Here’s to old clients, new clients, creative and corporate challenges and whatever else may be around the corner.

I’d love to work with and support you with your next challenge. Please feel free to drop me a line – katereillyjames@gmail.com and let’s see what we can do!

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,
Aug 09 2016
Leave a comment
Blog Post

#NoFilterNeeded

It will come as no surprise to hear..

That I love a good snapchat filter, or Instagram…..or flipagram….or Rple or Prisma and it seems like there’s a new app every week that can distort our faces into photoshopped perfection or a piece of art.

My Instagram is full of perfectly lit, posed pictures that look nothing like me whatsoever. The accompanying text along the lines of “Damn I wish my skin looked like this for real” typed while stuffing more pore blocking chocolate down my grid!  

Admittedly this fascination is doing little to aid my “be happy with how you look” crusade, but I’m fully aware that these smoothed out, contoured images aren’t attainable and are just a bit of fun.

A friend of mine Ste Johnson, is a professional illustrator and while he uses lots of new tech to create stunning artwork….give him a good old fashioned pencil and watch him work his magic!


I wanted to share an image with you, well it’s actually a piece of art and it’s not a narcissistic exercise, it’s an appreciation of skill. 

Ste managed to lift my self confidence with just a pencil, no filter needed, just some expertly drawn lines. Check out more of his work here.  

I’ve always loved drawing, colouring in and sewing since a really young age, but I’m not naturally gifted, just enthusiastic! 

Seeing what someone can do with just a pencil and pure skill will never fail to inspire me. Way more than a snapchat filter ever could! 

I’m so lucky to work with loads of naturally talented people and I’m always chuffed to discover a new artist creating something unique whether it be jewellery, baby items or framed art work. 

I met a lovely woman at Liverpool Loves on Saturday who knits and crochets. But I’m not taking baby booties and blankets! She knits octopus and mermaids and cactus and smiley veg! Check out her work at http://www.girlinpurlaction.co.uk 

Another exhibitor, GeekCycled makes tonnes of retro badges from old school comics, cue my eldest laughing at how different the chipmunks looked back in the early 90’s! 

She went home and made some Jacqueline Wilson badges of her own, inspired by the nostalgia. 


So here’s to all the true artists, the ones sketching in front of the telly, making mood boards from magazines, and cutting up old curtains to make tepees for the kids and buying half full paint tins and picture frames from car bootys to create masterpieces! 

Inspiring others young and old. You guys rock! 

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,