Cute digital greetings cards

I have a new product line available on Etsy today - printable greetings cards of my art. I have always wanted to design greetings cards and submitted designs to various card publishers over the years. I was even 'headhunted' for designs for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) a few years ago. Sadly none of the opportunities came to anything but I still wanted my art on greetings cards.

Like so many things in life - sometimes you have to do it yourself. Although these are digital downloads, if they sell well, I hope that I will be able to produce proper cards in future. The beauty of these digital downloads is that they allow you to print cards out at home as many times as you need. If you need birthday, anniversary or even just 'hello!' cards for lots of people they make a great investment. I have bought a few digi-cards in my time for exactly that reason. I have 5x7 inch and 5x5 inch cards at the moment and all are blank for your own message - and therefore great to use for any occasion.

I am hoping they will do well. It is an ever growing struggle to find customers and the ideal product these days. Being a rather un-imaginative person, it is twice as hard. I'm more at home walking in the hills than being the fun loving, social butterfly we are supposed to be online. However, if all goes well, I am hoping to produce other digital products soon. Next on the cards are digital prints but I'm considering craft products too. Only time will tell.

A new adventure with wildlife watercolour painting

There has not been a huge amount of creativity going on here lately. Things with Etsy have rather taken the wind out of my sails so I have had a quiet month or so to try and find a way forward.

However, on the bright side, I have been painting a lot more. I have had some ideas for a new product line that moves away from the hand made supplies I have offered for nearly 11 years. It's all a bit hush hush yet but it does involve my paintings. Over recent years the painting has had to take a back seat - much to my disappointment. I am hoping that in future I will be able to use my artistic skill much more and people will be able to buy products with some rather cute members of the British wildlife community on.

These guys are two of the pieces I have finished up. There are others including otters, woodmice and even moths. The big issue now is producing digital files for them. That's the scary stuff that has a steep learning curve. But, as they say, onwards and upwards. For the first time in a while I am feeling inspired and excited. I will keep you updated on how things go forward.

New tutorial download for wildlife brooches

A quick update on another new downloadable tutorial. This time the 'step-by-step how to' show you how to make wildlife brooches using six original templates designed by me. It was inspired by some little polymer clay brooches I had as a child. They were so cute - a hedgehog, a rabbit and a sheep - and I wore them religiously. These brooches, although made of paper, are long lasting thanks to a coat or two of varnish and simple to construct.

The animals that are included are a fox, a seal, a bear, whale, a bird and a hen and were designed by me specifically for this tutorial. Each one is roughly 1.5 inches (4 cm) at its widest point.

There are 12 pages of instructions, 26 full colour photos and hints and tips on decorating them. However you can also use them for other kinds of jewellery (imagine some really cute little earrings) or for scrapbooking, card making and other paper crafts

I love these little guys. In my opinion they are just as cute as the polymer clay brooches I had as a child.

More mini harvest watercolour paintings

It has been a yucky few weeks with illness in the family so my memory is a bit all over the place but it occurred to me that I never showed my harvest paintings. I was overtaken by the need to use some bright colours and came up with three little watercolours. The bright yellow came from quinacridone gold. It is the most wonderful tube of paint - the colour of sun dried tomatoes in the tube, fabulous orange with a little water added and golden yellow with a bit more water. It has to be one of the most versatile colours I have used. Mine was Schmincke brand but other paint manufacturers make it too. Magic in a tube.

As always, they are available to buy on my web site, Etsy and Folksy

Landscape paintings for a snowy winter

As it is now early winter my thoughts have been turning to snow. It is time to paint some snowy landscapes in the hope that real life will mirror fantasy and we'll get a good snowfall this year.

As always, they are available to buy on my web site, Etsy and Folksy