What's in a Name?

Well the school holidays are here and I'm finding my time completely absorbed with activities with the kids and keeping on top of my garden and greenhouse. My talented husband has been occupied every weekend since May, building a tree-house for the kids - it looks amazing and is very nearly ready for me to add the finishing, girly touches. Given the shortage of hours in the day I've felt it necessary to extend the deadline for the completion of my second book to October, or my sanity would be in tatters!
I've thoroughly enjoyed each of the eleven illustrations I've completed so far, but have been hesitant to start on the last nine as they are all night-time scenes - something I have absolutely no experience doing. I guess the only thing for it is to take the plunge, and see what happens!

I've had a few artistic deviations (to take my mind off the remaining illustrations) in the form of personalized 'frames'.

 I first tried my hand at these when I was decorating the nursery for my first child. We knew we were having a girl, and had chosen a name, so I bought Wooden letters and decided to decorate them for a shelf in her nursery. I had found a fabulous art/craft shop near where we lived, and I was like a kid in a sweet shop! I had already collected quite a stockpile of decorative papers via the internet, and I have a few friends and family members ardently collecting used wrapping paper, cards and gift bags for me to recycle. It's an all-absorbing creative out-let, and one I love. So simple too!

 Once you have the item you want to decorate your imagination is your only limitation. I have yet to find an economical source for wooden letters (buying them on the internet is costly with p & p) and I may resort to purchasing a small router in the future to produce my own.

In the meantime, I've dramatically down-sized and found small cardboard letters that I decorate in pretty much the same way, and put in a box-frame. They make fabulous gifts as they are so personalized, and can be hung on a bedroom door, wall or simply sit on a shelf/chest of drawers. So, if you're looking for something a little different but personal, you know where to come!