It seems (on a quick search through my posts and pics) that I have been remiss and have failed to share a project I designed, completed and taught last year. I’ve created another version this month – hence this post. May I introduce my Christmas and Easter pebble painting…
So, Easter is an optional twist on this week’s clean and simple card challenge over at AAA Cards. The main challenge is to use a shaped card that isn’t square or rectangular, with the suggestion that egg-shaped cards might be fun. Well, Easter celebrations, for me, are more than chocolate eggs, fluffy bunnies and cute chicks so I came up with this card instead:
I’ve had a few problems with my laser cutter over the last six weeks or so… One of the cables was causing intermittent faults. The presumption was that after four years of use, it was gradually fracturing. I managed to keep the machine limping on until I replaced the cable this week. As a result, I’ve had to feed projects into the machine through a slot so that the lid was barely lifted – an interesting exercise.
It would have been fine if I had not been asked to do several projects in those weeks. A small group craft session for church folk, the ‘Be Still’ evening and a large group craft session for my church’s retired men’s group. All of these needed kitting out with laser-cut items.
Here are the projects I designed and crafted for the small group and the men’s group. They feature crosses for the Easter season. Both are available as workshops at the Studio for groups of up to eight people. To book, just get in contact with me.
I was asked to prep some templates and samples on an Easter theme during my regular Bible Journaling session last month. I did so yesterday and today, and we will be using mixed media techniques on Monday to create one or more of these illustrations in your journaling Bible. I’ve tried to choose verses that might not be immediately the first you’d go to, and that show the sadness and joy of the event. I hope my colour palettes reflect those emotions too. As always, the templates are freely available to download via the shop link in the menu bar above. Here are my new journaled illustrations:
Like Christmas, Easter has a real meaning to me that far surpasses chocolate eggs and fluffy bunnies. I started this page without really knowing where it would end up. I had a wonderful magazine photo of roses which I really wanted to use, so in that went. After colouring the facing page and adding a gesso vignette, I searched online for a longer piece of text than a trite quote extolling the ‘romance’ of the flower.
I stumbled on this poem, which I’ve not come across before, by George Eliot. Nothing trite or romantic here as she explores the colour, thorns and fragrance in a stunning metaphor so in keeping with the true Easter story:
I went to gather roses and twine them in a ring,
For I would make a posy, a posy for the King.I got an hundred roses, the loveliest there be,
From the white rose vine and the pink rose bush and from the red rose tree.But when I took my posy and laid it at His feet
I found He had His roses a million times more sweet.There was a scarlet blossom upon each foot and hand,
And a great pink rose bloomed from His side for the healing of the land.Now of this fair and awful King there is this marvel told,
That He wears a crown of linked thorns instead of one of gold.Where there are thorns are roses, and I saw a line of red,
A little wreath of roses around His radiant head.A red rose is His Sacred Heart, a white rose is His face,
And His breath has turned the barren world to a rich and flowery place.He is the Rose of Sharon, His gardener am I,
And I shall drink His fragrance in Heaven when I die.
I’ve done another 3D item using the Craftwork Cards Kitsch kit recently featured on Create and Craft TV – I recommend leaving buying the mini eggs until just before you finish the item, else the basket seems half empty by the end of the project. More pics and a tutorial over at the Craftwork Cards blog.
Hi all – I’ve just added a new template to my Templates page. It’s an Easter Basket with handle and decorative flowers, and features in my next design team post over at Wow! Embossing Powder’s blog (published here).
