dropping a line

Just the quickest of notelets, made with some leftover waxed tissue paper with some trapped text, and a (surely now extinct?) Hero Arts poppy, painted a show-stopping scarlet:

a month of poppies

{ Rachel . Emilie . Jackson }

fallen leaf

Just a quick post to share this little idea! I spent a few hours making books of waxed paper yesterday, and at the end of the day I had a few small pieces left. So I found this (to me) exciting leaf in the garden, complete with munched, lace-like holes, and trapped it between two sheets of the waxed tissue, using a small iron to melt the wax.

a newly-framed leaf

Then, I found a small, inexpensive canvas, and tore away the canvas from the wooden frame. I quickly painted up the frame with emulsion paints and gesso, and placed the leaf inside. I like to see it at my window, with the light shining through on a sunny morning!

Thanks, Sue, for the canvas!

{ Rachel . Emilie . Jackson }

gift pouch for Christmas

Here’s another sneak peek for my upcoming Christmas class – it’s the ’shabby’ style stitched gift pouch we’ll be making…

enjoy your gift!

Those images are by Hero Arts. Here’s the back…

merry & bright

Those sequins are from a length of trim from (I think) the 1960s, maybe earlier. That lovely scrollwork stamp at the top is by Darkroom Door.

I’m going to take this opportunity to ask those attending to please bring a small-medium sized needle with them, if they have one to hand. (Don’t worry, there will be some here too.) Hope you’re looking forward to it!

{ Rachel . Emilie . Jackson }

prairie lovesong

Aside from living in the Swiss Alps, my next preference of dream-habitat would be a prairie landscape. (Of course the lack of practicality of both of these tough environments is immaterial!) So the other day I indulged some dreams of wandering through calf-height, straw-like grasses.

ochre

wand'ring steppes (!)

wild ornament

A new set of shelves in the ‘craft room’ means that I have a lot of space in there now for supplies that had begun to exist only as a memory, including these very old Hero Arts stamps of grasses (bottom left). Then I drew and painted tangled stems over the card using koh-i-noor pencils. A bit of book leather and an enamelled bead finish things off.

Then, I thought I’d try those beautiful Artisan Pastellier pastels I brought back from Toulouse. I used them over a stamped image, on very soft-surfaced handmade paper, which I thought would hold the pastel well.

a soft touch?

I’m pleased – the pastel doesn’t seem to need a fixative on this paper, which is wonderfully ‘toothy’. By the way, that’s another ancient Hero Arts design. The music is by Delish Designs.

{ Rachel . Emilie . Jackson }

unadorned Christmas

Hello! One more little Christmas card today, made with a very understated and pretty tree image by the Old Island Stamp Company. The image itself is so elegant, I don’t like to add much, so I just added a little watercolour, some sparkle, and a tiny pearl tree topper. Then I glued a strip of lacy trim at the top of the card.

Cosy woollens & a perfect tree...everything you need for Christmas!

On a not altogether unrelated note, a box of glass jars has arrived for me today, so I suppose it’s time to start making the cranberry jam – a very Christmassy task!

{ Rachel . Emilie . Jackson }

Mrs Claus goes glam!

Just a quick post to share with you this girlie festive offering which we’ll be making at my next class, on Saturday the 28th November! We’ll also be working on a stamped and stitched gift pouch and a sweet little cahier-style book.

Über glam!

Here’s a close up…

joys of the season

We’ll be using these lovely Stampington & Co. stamps, available from The Stamp Attic.

There are a couple of spaces left for classes – if you’re interested in being on my workshop mailing list, leave a comment and I’ll contact you for your address.

{ Rachel . Emilie . Jackson }

Christmas in Paris

Sadly, no I’m not spending Christmas in Paris*, however, I really love these Parisian stamps by Elusive Images and just got carried away by the though of Notre Dame at Christmas!

stained glass and Christmas bells

I watercoloured that fabulous Elusive stamp and cut out the building. Then I used a collection of postal/ Paris stamps by Cavallini to decorate the card, along with a very old Hero Arts stamp of a snowflake. Again, there’s a subtle Sakura sparkle to this card that just doesn’t show in the photo, but it’s just the right December touch.

Maybe next year!

{ Rachel . Emilie . Jackson }

* although one of my blog visitors is spending her Christmas in Paris!

holly & peppermint

I’m certainly into the Christmas card making swing now, and I had fun with this glamorous, girlie greeting – I think this is what the ‘domestic goddess’ must wear while taking gingerbread out of the oven on Christmas eve!

not suitable footwear for heavy snowfall

Just a little painted shoe and some music paper & printed twill, but very festive! That flourish stamp is by Hot off the Press.

I added three small Swarovski crystals to the shoe for a bit of sparkle.

{ Rachel . Emilie . Jackson }

 

festive trimming

I’ve finally made a start with a few Christmas cards! I think this time of year gives you an excuse to use a bit more sparkle and dig out any trims that are ‘too fancy’ for the other eleven months!

Forget-me-not blue, cream & brown

So, there’s a touch of glitter on the ‘Believe’ message there, and small Swarovski crystals in the branches on the left. I drew the branches with those koh-i-noor watercolour crayons from Toulouse – still love those! And then it’s all finished off with brown crushed velvet ribbon.

Here’s a closer look:

economy meets luxury...

It’s not all fanciness though, as that band of patterned paper is actually the recycled inside of a business envelope. I’ve been saving that one for about 4 years in a box full of business envelope linings! The bird punch I got from the Stampington Shoppe – I haven’t seen it over here, please correct me if you’ve spotted it in the UK. It’s actually a robin punch, because as you may not know, American robins are long and slim, unlike the European ones. (US readers: Over here, robins are fat and round like a golf ball with feathers! Fabulous!)

merry!

These are two very sweet stamps from Hero Arts, teamed with some dried lilac blossoms and bobble trim, which I think suggests snowballs!

tied up with a bow

I watercoloured the tree and added Sakura gold sparkle, then forced the thread through some tiny holes and tied a bow.

Hope you’re feeling a bit festive now!

{ Rachel . Emilie . Jackson }

gales in viking, forties, north utsire…

Feeling very Novemberish just now, with windy, umbrella-inside-out days!

I found a tin full of dried flowers from about two years ago and so created this little autumnal card:

russet, berry, cream

If you look at this picture long enough, you may find yourself adding red wine and mulling spices to your shopping list this week for no good reason! (Or is that just me?)

The ‘November’ script is by Heidi Swapp, and is available in the UK from Wendy at The Stamp Attic.

Christmas cards tomorrow!

{ Rachel . Emilie . Jackson }