Nature in the home

I couldn't resist joining in with Lou this week because I not only had a plant in the house that had green leaves instead of brown but also a box filled with chicks that has moved into our lounge as it is far too cold to keep them outside at the moment and what could be more naturey than a beautiful table top tableaux combining the two?  Double nature in my home.

(I have edited out all the pictures showing chick poo on my table and very lop sided plants when four chicks have attacked the leaves and would also like to state that my house is very hygienic should you wish to call in for tea and cakes and that the smell of the hyacinths almost cancels out the small of chicks)

3 new prints in Folksy shop and an offer...

 I've just listed 3 new prints in my Folksy Shop if you fancy popping across to have a look,  Spring is in the air (honestly) so I have been making prints of Hares...above is 'Dancing Hare'...

...this is called 'Line of Hares'...

...and on a completely different track, here is 'Mini Bath'.  One of my fave UK cities for spending a day wandering around, taking in the beautiful buildings, parks, the river, amazing street entertainment and general people watching, I just love it, so here it is captured in mini form.

My Folksy Shop is teetering on 100 sales at the moment, so I have decided that the next 5 customers I have on Folksy (numbers 99, 100, 101, 102, 103) will get a free gift with their purchase.  How exciting, don't you think.  I'd love it if all 5 bought a Hare print because they are my newest babies, but there are lots of others to choose from and the bigger the purchase the bigger the free gift.  What an offer - it might even cheer you up an a gloomy nearly Spring day!!  I've got lots of printed goodies that aren't in my online shops, so you'll get a lovely suprise package...

todays printing

I love the fact that lino blocks are art works in themselves...

In fact a couple of different galleries have asked me for framed lino blocks in the past - I think for display purposes and to explain printing processes to visitors as well as for their own aesthetic merit.

I have always said no, because I like to hoard my lino blocks.  Maybe because I spend so much with them, or because when an edition has sold out they are all I have left (although by then they are all stained with ink and not quite as beautiful as the one above, inked for the very first time!).  They do also go a bit strange and brittle after a very long time being hoarded in my lino block drawer and will probably end up making very good compost if I leave them there for long enough...which I will...

fabric block printing a dress

Last weekend I ran a workshop on block printing fabric at a Bristol craft shop.  As part of the workshop we collaborated on a block printed girls dress and it came out so well, I was really pleased with it!  The dress is still waiting to be sewn up but I couldn't wait to show you how the material came out, brightly coloured and with a rough 'nature' theme on unbleached cotton - perfect for a summers day... when we have one I'll post a piccie of the finished frock.