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,

Out of Hibernation...of Cats and Christmas

Hello my friends. Sorry this is late for Christmas and New Year, but I'm on Slow Time. 

It's been so long since I've visited my blog, or even anyone else's. I've been in hibernation, recovering from PTSD and depression. The time had come for the past to erupt and be dealt with...I became immobilised with sadness and pain.

It's been a long gradual journey, trying various strategies and medicines. Some medications didn't help, and side effects were a problem, but I found an anti-depressant to lift me up enough to reach the rope so I could pull myself out of the deep well of darkness. After a year and a half I'm feeling much better, with better sleep and exercise, good counselling, life and attitude changes and mindfulness. 

Through it all my dear ginger tabby cat Gypsy was beside me, purring her good vibes into me every day when I sat in my armchair to read or be mindful. 

Gypsy was the second cat we adopted 4 years ago from the RSPCA (animal refuge). We had a few weeks previously adopted Willow, a tiny traumatised kitten (who has remained traumatised despite our love and care), and Gypsy came to us after being abandoned too, but she was a robust and confident trickster who stole our hearts and helped Willow settle down. How could we not keep her???

I still feel teary as I write this. Sadly, Gypsy got cancer (at the age of only 4) and passed away. We had 2 days to say goodbye after I took her to the vet when her breathing seemed laboured. Otherwise she seemed her healthy robust self, jumping up onto our roof to hunt birds in the treetops even the day before.

It was such a shock to learn in November that she had fluid on her lungs and though it was drained, the cancer was everywhere in her body and too advanced to save her. It was so sad to hold her as she was euthenased; I couldn't believe the depth of my feelings for her. I chose a special rose to mark her grave in our garden, an apricot colour. 

As I laid her in her grave and covered her with earth, lastly planting her special rose, I wept for my little friend. The grief I felt was cathartic, and released so much old stored up emotion. In the days after her burial I felt like a load had lifted from my shoulders, that somehow the deep emotional outpouring was cleansing. But there was a hole in my life, and my chair was no longer a happy place to sit. Keeping busy was preferable.

After a month of missing Gypsy's presence (Willow had bonded to our daughter and only tolerated the rest of the family!) I felt the need for another cat to fill the gaping hole in our family. 

So now we have rescued another abandoned kitten - Jasper. His mum and her litter of four were handed in to the Animal Welfare League, and they were looked after beautifully until he was weaned and ready to be adopted. My daughter (12) and I visited to play with all the abandoned kittens to help them be socialised, and we fell in love with Jasper. We hoped that a kitten would have a better chance of being accepted by our poor fearful Willow. 

Jasper was a wonderful Christmas present...He settled in quickly and was at home with us all, enjoying the refuge of a lap for a snooze, or a romping play with anyone patient enough to endure tiny claws grasping and constant skittling across the floor. He loved the Christmas tree...

and the tinsel...
         
                           
          





It will take some time, but the two cats are gradually getting closer. 

This year I only made five Christmas cards. I love how they turned out, but they took me so long! The four below were made in my sister's studio - I spent a wonderful week with her in early December. 

       

         

    

               

 The final one I made for my friend Amanda. She has been such an inspirational artist for me,as well as a great conversationalist. Her shop is called Amanda's of Mogo - one of my favourite arty shops...

Wishing you all more sleep. more health and more happiness!

Love and hugs to you all,

Jesse XXX