Colour Inspiration #7 - Hydrangea

A colour palette inspired by the hydrangea bush in my garden...

This is the most colourful time of year in my garden - I don't want the summer to end!

Summer Cake Bunting

The Great British Bake Off is back on tv again, inspiring my sister and I to bake!  In episode 1 the bakers had to make a cake with a hidden design inside so we thought we would try our own.  We decided to make a very simple cake compared to the ones on the Bake Off - ours was just three layers of sponge in graduated shades of green.


Between the layers of sponge are jam and buttercream.  The cake was then covered in ready to roll fondant icing.  We coloured a little fondant with pink food colouring to make some roses for the top.

One thing I really wanted to try out was some fancy piping with glace icing.  So I covered the cake in pale green piped swirls and leaves, it's a little time consuming but looks effective...

We finished off the cake with some mini bunting - it's really easy to make and looks fun on cakes! I used this template to cut pennants from my 'Cupcakes and Roses' themed printable scrapbooking paper...

To make the bunting you need:
paper pennants
some thread or ribbon
2 bamboo skewers

Fold the pennants in half, then lay out with the thread running along the inside fold and glue the two sides of the pennants together.  If you don't glue the thread you will be able to slide the pennants and spread them out evenly along the thread. Tie the ends of the thread to bamboo skewers and push into the cake.

British Sellers on Etsy Treasury Challenge #16

The inspiration item for this treasury challenge is a pretty vintage tea party set from Second Home. 

I picked a theme of ‘Picnic in the Meadow’ for this treasury and found some lovely items from Etsy sellers – many of the items I featured are from UK based sellers too.

You can see the treasury in full here: http://www.etsy.com/treasury/Njc4ODE0MnwyNzIzMjA2NzE4/picnic-in-the-meadow

 

This is a British Sellers on Etsy Challenge entry! Anyone can play! Please go to www.etsy.com/teams/6966/british-sellers-on-etsy/discuss/10761821/ to find out more.

Some old projects - found and finished

I love trying out different crafts but that means I have loads of half finished projects tucked away (and not even started ones too!).  I recently decided that I would make more of an effort to get some things finished.  When I went away on holiday I wanted something small to take with me and found a couple of cross stitch kits I had started years ago...

I finished this Bagpuss one while I was away...



I also found that I had done a few stitches of this kit to make a coaster.  I've finished sewing the rose - now all it needs is to go inside the coaster :)

I used to do quite a bit of cross stitch but I got put off by how long it takes to finish -  I was too impatient, wanting to see more progress in a picture.  Now I have rediscovered the fact that I actually enjoy it - on small projects anyway :)  I think I might have a go at designing some small charts again too.

Early Halloween

This year I'm making an effort to be prepared early for the holidays - so I'm starting with Halloween today...

I have designed a new box shape to use with my Halloween patterns.  It is a top opening box measuring 8.5cm wide, 11cm tall and 3.5cm deep.  This template is a versatile design as you can use it to make a gift box or a bag. To make the bag instead of a box simply cut off the top flaps, punch some holes in the side and thread with ribbon to make handles.

Each box template also comes with a coordinating tag...

The boxes come as 2 printable sheets - one box features lots of creepy spiders in black and white and the other box has black cats and bats in black, white and orange.  I think these designs made as gift bags would be great for filling with sweets and treats at Halloween parties!



These boxes are available to buy from my Etsy shop - more non-seasonal designs will be available in this box shape soon too!

Clockwork Kingfisher - from sketchbook to finished illustration

If you saw the picture on my facebook page yesterday you might have already guessed that I was working on a Kingfisher as my next clockwork bird.  I thought I would share some photos to show you my working process from sketchbook to finished illustration.  I did try to make a slideshow but it wasn't uploading properly so here are some still photos instead...

All my illustrations start life in my sketchbook.  I use reference photos to get an idea of the birds shape and test out some colours.  I've developed a sort of formula for turning real birds into clockwork form but things like the colour patterns, wing, body and beak shape makes each bird unique. 

Once I have a rough idea of the design I start working on watercolour paper.  I use 140lb, extra smooth hot pressed paper - it's great for detailed pen work and watercolours.

When I am happy with the bird in pencil I can start drawing in pen.  I use a dip pen and brown ink - it's waterproof so won't be smudged when the colour is added and I like the quality of line the dip pen produces.

When the ink is completely dry it's time to start adding some colour...

I use tubes of watercolour - but I like to squeeze them onto my palette and leave them to dry, making my own set of watercolour pans.  Does that sound like an odd way of using watercolours?

The colour is built up slowly with layers of paint...

Normally I leave the painting to dry overnight before scanning it - watercolours become lighter as they dry and obviously I don't want wet paint on the scanner!  I made sure that I didn't paint the blues too pale as scanners sometimes have trouble picking up very light shades of blue.

Here's the scanned version of the Kingfisher... 

Now it's time to work on the illustration digitally in Photoplus.  I add a background using various scanned textures and clean up the scanned bird, removing the white paper from the scan.  I will use the finished illustration for different sized prints, the largest will be 8x10 so that's the size I work with now.  It's better to reduce the size of the orginal later rather than to try and enlarge it which might reduce the quality of the image.

Almost finished now - I add the text 'Edwin Cracknell's Clockwork Birds' which appears on all the clockwork bird illustrations.  I also write the title of this piece (Model No.13 Alcedo atthis ~ Kingfisher) in dip pen and ink, scan it and add to the illustration.

And here is the finished Clockwork Kingfisher! :)



Clockwork Chaffinch

'One of Edwin Cracknell's favourite finches is the colourful male Chaffinch.  It's distinctive markings and powerful song make this little mechanical bird an attractive addition to any collection!'

I like drawing birds with bold markings so thought the male chaffinch would be a good choice for my next clockwork bird illustration.  He's been on my 'to do list' for a while, so it's good to have him finished :)

After such a long gap since my last bird I'm on a roll now and am already half way through my next one!   I'm just waiting for the paint to dry before I can scan it.  Hopefully it should be finished in a day or two (if you want to see a sneak peek I posted a picture on my facebook page: www.facebook.com/HazelFisherCreations )

Colour Inspiration #6 - Waiting Room

This colour palette is inspired by Weybourne Station - I love all the old luggage on display by the waiting room!

Ball Games party

This new printable party set has a ball games theme - great for sports themed birthday parties!  The set comes in two colour schemes - either green and orange or blue and red and features a range of sports balls from football and basketball to tennis and cricket.

The party set includes an invitation, cupcake toppers, tent cards, name place cards, straw flags and a birthday bunting banner.  The invitations, cupcake toppers and tent cards come personalised too with your own choice of wording.

For more details see this listing in my Etsy shop here:  https://www.etsy.com/listing/105788658/ball-games-personalised-printable-party