Hello and welcome to 2018!
We have crashed-banged into the New Year with lots of fun, new things that we are really excited to share with you.

2018 is shaping up to be a big year, with Anna currently writing a book about cats (surprise, surprise!), due out at the end of the year.

Over Christmas and New Year, Anna was busy putting fineliner to paper, redesigning some old favourites in our Valentine's range.

The card designs were a number of years old and created when we printed on smaller inkjet printers, so they didn't utilise the full colour capabilities of our current printer.  We wanted to keep the overall feel of the card the same, but refresh the imagery.

We've included some of the original sketches of the new designs, as well as the original designs so you can see some of our process.

Anna's Thoughts - "The Whatevs card has been a big favourite of mine from the start. I didn't want to change the man too much, but I wanted to add something special to the image. In the end I went with a fancy garden and had a bit of an idea of the kind of situation our chap would be in.

Our Whatevs guy has asked his beloved to take a photo of him for his new instagram account @robbo_in_front_of_fancy_gardens and is hoping he will reach 10k followers by the end of the year. The hashtags he has used for this particular picture include #gorggeraniums #hellodaisy #randominfrontofgarden"

Gareth's Thoughts - "He even looks 5 years older."

Anna's Thoughts - "This card holds a special place in my heart because I think it was our very first cat card. I once told Gareth that he was the cutest kitten in the basket, and then decided it would make a great card.

When redesigning it I wanted the basket weave to be impressive. It ended up taking me a few hours to finish. I was at the Rose Street Market drawing away, hoping I was getting it right as my eyes got confused with the lines. I also wanted MORE KITTENS on this card and have added 6 more. Let's assume it isn't one litter, because 9 kittens in a litter is extreme birthing."

Gareth's Thoughts - "Will the next redesign have 15, 27 or 81 kittens in the basket?"

Anna's Thoughts - "This card almost didn't get a redesign, but I felt that it needed to change seeing our own perfect night had changed slightly since having two kids.

So, the usual things are included, plonk, good food and the disco, but TV viewing has changed since we welcomed Netflix into the house. Now, a good night is when we can make a speedy TV viewing decision. FYI 20 minutes is quick in our house.

We've also added kids asleep and scrolling through pics of the kids on the phone, because who doesn't do that? That is SO MUCH FUN!"

Gareth's Thoughts - "I don't see a kebab on there."

Would you like to see your most awkward date made into an Able And Game illustration?

We would love to draw your funny stories about bad dates but we need your help. Just reply to this email with your story and we will be sketching our favourites to share.

We did this a number of years ago (5 to be exact) and loved reading all the stories. Back in 2013 we illustrated one of our favourites titled Strawberries are not a fruit and would love to draw some more.

Please note: names will be changed to protect the innocent. Ray, GSOH, DTE, 40 from Moonee Ponds won't be calling you up asking why his face is all over Instagram just because he sent you some duck pics.

Stay tuned for the next episode!
Our next newsletter will feature a competition where you can win one of 5 custom couple illustrations.

Just in time for Valentine's Day, or if you have friend's getting hitched soon we could draw them. Whatever takes your fancy!