Welcome Baby Card

Hello friends,

This week I made a baby card for a friend with a new arrival - a boy. 

A cuttlebug was used to make the embossed background, which I swiped with blue and brown ink, added butterfly wings to the baby from an old cabinet card,  with a small gold wreath behind him like a halo.

Butterfly wings for me symbolise freedom, soaring above, enjoying the view below, and a sign of Spring. So I thought I'd share a couple of butterfly giveaways I have 'worked on' in Photoshop to emphasize or change colours. Perhaps they will find their way into some of your artworks...

I'm joining up with Wen and her followers for her Simply Neutrals Tuesday party at her Blog, Apple Apricot. Come over to see more gorgeous neutral artworks...

It's Autumn here in Australia, and a perfect day for a swim at the beach...30 degrees Celcius. so I'd better get some work done first!

Happy Spring and Autumn to us all.

Love,

Jesse 

Her Serene Adjacency, The Lady Tara Fluffy Bum

Hello Friends, 

It seems I have a cat theme going here, but this is the last for a while!

I've been having great fun with Lightroom and Photoshop, working through a couple of online courses to improve my  photo-editing skills. In the process of organising my photo collection in Lightroom I came across the pictures below. 

The first is a collage I made when my dear cat Tara, who was with me for 18 years, died some years ago. She was also known as Her Serene Adjacency, The Lady Tara Fluffy Bum, because she preferred to be nearby but not fussed over or cuddled. Being a Birman she had a rather posh, aloof personality, and was strikingly beautiful, with blue eyes and a long fluffy creamy coat with pale grey markings on her ears, nose, feet and tail. 

 

Below is the pencil sketch I did of Tara from a photo of her. I used a copy in the collage above. The edges were decorated with stamping and embossing using a heatgun. The angel is a photo I took in St Paul's Cathedral, London, years ago. I was mesmerised by its beauty.

Tara loved exploring every cavity she could fit in, especially drawers!

This puss was my first 'baby', and she kept me company during my 'single' years. Later, my children enjoyed her as they grew up, though she always kept her distance from them, preferring my lap to anyone else's. Not at all like our little Jasper, who has won all of our hearts and laps! 

I thought I would never get another cat after she died, but after a few years I was ready. There's nothing quite like the contented purr of a cat to soothe the soul...

Lastly, an image of a beautiful old book with lace...

I'm joining Wen for Simply Neutrals Tuesday #37 at her blog, Apple Apricot here. It's a gathering of artists focussing on the beauty of a neutral palette. 

Hope your week brings joy in your creativity, whatever you do...

Love,

Jesse XX

Shabby Book Cover Collages and Other Neutral Joys...

Hello friends,

Here's a large nest from my collection, displayed with wooden eggs (silky oak), and a piece of wrinkled bark I picked up on a walk...

Above is a card I threw together in haste - using a beautiful tag from Megan Berry. You can download them here: 

https://lilac-n-lavender.blogspot.com.au/2012/02/vintage-bird-inspired-tags.html

These are the set of tags available for free. Aren't they gorgeous? Thanks, Megan!

Some shells, sea urchin shells and stones I've collected...

Here's my little friend, Jasper. Every day he settles himself near my computer to snooze beside me...

He's growing so fast! Here he is with his siblings before we took him home. So sweet! I wish we could have taken his black and white brother, too!!!

The tree design on the old book cover below attracted my eye at a garage sale, so I decided to honour it with a few bits and pieces - a

skeleton leaf found on a walk, and part of the worn spine of the book, and a beautiful moth picture. There wasn't room for much. I took the back cover too, and did another collage. I love the worn old look to these canvas covers.

Maybe this is cheating, but I've tinted the colour of the collages so they'd fit into Simply Neutrals Tuesday over at Wen's blog, Appleapricot , where you will find a collection of neutral coloured artworks on display. I'll show you the true colours soon...

Wishing you a creative week appreciating the beauty around you....

Jesse

Vintage Postcards

Hello Friends,

Here are some vintage postcards I inherited from my grandparents, displayed with luscious laces. My sister and I had such fun sharing them out between us. She has a lovely collection too.

And a collage I made recently using old sheet music, a scrapbooking paper snippet, fabric scraps, dried plants, dyed netting, vintage lace and images of a butterfly, baby and roses, all on a background that was an old book cover.

I'm joining Wen's Simply Neutrals Tuesday party at her blog, AppleApricot.

Why don't you pop across to see the gorgeous neutral artworks, collectables and photo art on display? You may like to share some too...

Wishing you a creative week,

Jesse XX