Christmas and New Year Cards

Hello Friends,

Can you believe we are almost through the first month of the new year? With kids back to school, I'm starting to catch up. I sent some Christmas and New Year cards out late - yes, that's typical me! So I thought they deserved a viewing here. (I didn't want to spoil the surprise before they were received!)

A New Year Fairy with embossed butter foil wings, a lace collar, gold star fabric, scrap booking scraps and teabag layers...

A special wall hanging for a friend...

I started in Photoshop, combining several images and adding digital stamps. This was printed, torn and aged using Tim Holtz Distress ink. The base was some old cardboard, torn and tattered.

I embellished it with some old music, a floral doiley, a gathered silk striped scrap, some dried flowers and leaves, scrap booking paper, a heart scrap,  a used teabag, doiley scraps, a wooden gold painted star, fabric scraps and a seam binding ribbon to hang it.

I had fun with the colours on this fairy wall hanging. The crimson and pink laces were from old clothes from opportunity shops. I used an embossed silver butter foil trimmed to shape, some old music, some special tissue paper I'd saved for years,  a gold painted wooden star with crimson glitter, hand-made paper, a crochet doiley scrap and fabric scraps all layered onto a vintage book cover

 It was fun playing with a different palette of colours. I used the old book scraps as texture, too.

This fairy was layered onto a gold star fabric scrap, an embossed pattern inked in gold and some vintage paper, lace and fabric scraps. I love how effective the black striped ticking looks here. The bow was a salvaged one from a long-ago gift.

Now I'm showcasing some special cards I received from lovely friends. The first is from Dorthe. It features a gorgeous bird and a vintage Winter dressed child. The leaf has lovely dimension and glitter along the veins, and the scrap of fragile brown lace looks very old. Dorthe has cleverly used many layers and details of text, print, texture and glitter, finished with two pretty orange stars. I love it, Dorthe!

The next one is from Suzy. I am always intrigued by her layers of aged papers, fabric scraps and text stitched on and put together so perfectly with the chosen Christmas image. It looks deceptively simple, but it just works beautifully all together. Thanks, Suzy! I love your card too.

This card is one Suzy sent to me last year, and it deserves showing. It has a gorgeous fine black lace scrap -I don't know how Suzy has the heart to cut into these vintage laces, but what she makes with them is a worthy display. Suzy has layered fabric scraps, vintage music and a sentiment with a beautiful Christmas image stitched on to the card. Beautiful, Suzy!

To finish, a little splash of colour from one of my dahlias, a very old-fashioned flower I planted just last year. They are stunningly gorgeous happy flowers.

Now, on with the year's tasks so I can get to play as well!

Sending love,

Nature Shadow Box

Happy New Year 2019 to all my dear blogland visitors and friends!

A little natural wonder to start the year...

I decorated this shadow box using scrapbook papers and natural findings including butterflies, feathers, dragon flies, leaves, insect eggs (they didn't hatch) a cicada and some tiny dry crabs and and sea urchins I picked up at the beach.

Before I put away my pink gumleaves from the previous post I couldn't resist one more play... such gorgeous tones and textures. I love the soft pink galah feathers I found on the ground with the leaves too.

These butterflies were found on the side of the road where I was walking one day, probably hit by a car - but not too damaged, so I brought them home.  I'm considering how to save them from being damaged.

The colours don't look so neutral close up!

Walking on our local beaches I often find sea urchin shells and black shark egg shells - usually in rocky areas.

Neil Gaiman's words express the wish I send you for 2019:  

 I'm joining Wen at Appleapricot for Simply Neutrals # 52, where others will be displaying lovely neutral colours for us to appreciate. Come over and see...