Hand made cards

Hello my friends,

It's been quite a while since my last post here. Sometimes life takes you away from the screen. My partner has been in hospital but is now recovering well and we are catching up on all the balls we let fall...

I haven't done much creating, but I have painted our deck and stairs which were sadly in need of repair. These cards are ones I did a while ago...

 The bird's egg and nest is a serviette which I tore. I added an egg tag which fits into the front pocket, and finished with a paper flower and a netting piece of a lace doiley. Very quick and simple, it was a last minute rush.

This image of Maud Fealy is stitched onto hand-made paper layers over a scrapbooking paper, embellished with a lace scrap, daisies and pink butterfly.

The cardboard frame was perfect for this beautiful baby, layered over hand made paper, an embossed texture, stamped script and a snippet of lace, and finished with a satin ribbon.

Next, a baby card suitable for a boy. Over a grey-blue scrapbook paper background I added a leafy wreath, white butterfly wings, a tiny flower and seam binding bow, an embossed gold crown and some buttons.

I like this cheeky boy's smile.

I have been doing some photography when I can, and I edited this image of Willow in photoshop. She has the most beautiful eye colour.

Here's Willow again...

Here are pictures of our deck before and after I painted it... what a huge job! It took about two weeks to do three sets of stairs, two small decks and the main deck.

I think I'm just in time - a couple of boards will need to be replaced, but when T is quite recovered...

What a sucker for punishment I am - no sooner did I finish painting the deck, I started the next garden project - putting in rocks to hold back the soil and mulch... luckily I just finished these projects before the cold change hit us. Now I can be cosy and do indoor stuff.

Despite the lack of rain since January, my roses are still blooming in June, along with hibiscuses...

I wish you a happy Summer if that's where you are. We are now in Winter, having our first rain in months and our first cold weather. Here, we are cold when it gets down to below 15 degrees Celcius during the day. I love the cosiness of being indoors during wind and cold rain. No excuses for creative output now! And time to catch up and be inspired by my blogging friends too.

Butterflies and Babies

Hello Friends,

With Spring awakening here in Australia, I'm looking forward to the butterflies, roses and new life happening.  

I had some fun decorating the lid of this pretty yellow box which I am using to store cut out butterflies ready for some projects...

Here's a close up of the lid. I used script paper, a label and a gorgeous image of Maude Feely with an embroidered rose embellishment.

Fascinated by butterflies, I picked up this vintage preserved butterfly under glass...

Speaking of butterflies, here's an unusual one! My kitten, Jasper, was a great model for me, and I used Photoshop to give him fairy wings.

 

He's grown up so quickly - here he is as a small kitten with gorgeous blue eyes, with his cute cheeky brother. So hard to choose!

I was won over by his pretty face!

He was a rescue kitten - he's still in his cage  here, too young to leave his mum yet.

At 10 weeks old, he quickly settled in to his new home. He loves to sleep next to my computer as I work.

He now has yellow eyes - a pity to lose those sweet blue eyes, but he is still gorgeous. Now 10 months old, he's been a great photography inspiration for me...

Of course, he loves lace and fabrics, and always chooses to park himself in the middle of whatever I am doing!

 

A couple of months ago I attended a Doll and Bear Show in Wyong. I was stunned at the artistry of many of the 'reborn' dolls there. I had a cuddle with one of them... so sweet!

You'd easily be tricked into thinking it was a real baby!!!

A paddock full of lambs attracted my attention on a trip to Oberon. I only had my phone as a camera...

The drought is awful, and everywhere farmers are hand feeding and desperate for rain. This looks green after a shower, but there's not much to graze on. And this is usually pretty good land...

Lastly, here's a sweet mother and baby encounter on a trip to Pebbly Beach in the Murramarang National Park...

I'm joining Wen at AppleApricot for Simply Neutrals # 48. Join us there for a feast of neutral beauty... Wishing you a Happy Spring or Fall, wherever you are.

Hugs,

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