WATERCOLOUR LOVE

  This morning on my way to work I had an epiphany. I thought about how I was glad that my garage door, which has been giving me a bit of trouble, essentially still worked, and how I am thankful to God for it. But then I thought that while I have had many blessings, I have also had my fair share of difficulties and hardships. And I sometimes can't see any rhyme or reason in the ways of the world, or of God. But then I thought that, with Jesus, we have a promise that it will all make sense one day, if not in this life then in the next. That while the Eastern mystics would have us believe that we should empty our mind of thought to be one with the Creator, the Christian believes that thinking things through and finding answers are important, just because we believe that things eventually always make sense in our universe, with Jesus. 2 Timothy 1:7 says, "For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." And 1 Corinthians 13:12 say...

I hope you are enjoying the lead up to Christmas and all that it means to us. It's a time of year for remembering the gift of God through the good news that salvation is here, that He does not condemn us (and so noone else should either), and that we are loved to death - the death on the Cross. Jesus takes the concept of God, and makes Him personal. Every year I make Christmas cards, and this year I painted these cute critters in watercolour, printed them, and turned them into cards. These little critters are cute and loving, and would just love to make you smile! I really enjoyed making these cards for you - yes, YOU were my inspiration! If you would like to order, here is the link . Thank you for your support this year, and have a blessed Christmas!

Would you like a heartfelt handmade gift for someone special? These handmade books fit in a standard envelope and make great lockdown gifts! Inspirational original quotes illustrated with original watercolour art, they are available in my Etsy shop . Add custom calligraphy, addressed envelope and tags as you wish! This is truly a gift from the heart. Here is a video of the Book of Difference:

 I took my botanical prints which I have made thus far, and ran with them! They were originally conceived as an idea for a triptych for a housewarming gift. I have already shared my botanical greeting cards on this blog. Here are the prints as triptychs: Clicking on the pictures should take you to my Etsy store. The prints are unframed, and the pictured frame is one I suggest from Kmart - click here . Instructions on positioning the prints in the frame are available with your purchase of the prints. Currently I only sell to Australia, and postage is free. I hope you enjoy these handpainted botanicals. They make a great housewarming gift! And be sure to leave a review of my shop if you drop by.

 It's been a while since I posted an update. I have been painting in the background, and my latest project is making greeting cards. This is so much fun, and I have made a couple of card packs! I painted some proteas for a triptych commissioned by a friend, and then made prints which looked fantastic on some coloured cardstock with a stamped sentiment! Which is your favourite protea? I mostly find that people seem to like the pink and purple proteas best. These proteas are so versatile that I have included the option of adding a variety of other handstamped sentiments to let your loved one know that you care. If you would like custom greetings, please feel free to contact me and I will try to accommodate. I have included a picture of my favourite craft sentiment stamps which might help you make a choice. It is on the Etsy listing. And for a greener look I played around with my favourite leaf designs. I just love painting these, and they look a treat as greeting cards, which wi...

 I am excited to share my new palette with you, which arrived this morning in the post (on a Sunday, Yay!) I did not wait long to fill it with my pigments, and am really looking forward to paint with it! I can see that this palette allows me to organise and paint with about 5 times more pigments than my two ceramic plates that I was using. The palette has 33 pans; my two ceramic plates I coud get maybe about 6-8 dots of pigment. Also, there was often not enough pigment on the plate, so that I had to "squirt" some more and use it when it was wet, which is more wasteful. So with this palette the idea is to let the pigment dry overnight and then use as you would a pan. It is better than a ready-filled pan, from what I understand in my research, because the colours are your own, and the colours are usually brighter when loaded onto your brush. I used this palette (affiliate link*), and is similar to what Jenna Rainey recommended on her YouTube video . Some of you may have experi...