Well.....I've lost count of the number of these Baby Posters I have done since I started selling them in the last 6 years or so . They are scanned and printed from an original, but then the names, dats, time and weight as well as the decoration is put on by hand.
Just a quick post today....A handmade Birthday Card, made using the cutter. Beautiful purples and lined with lavender. I think the white contrast looks stunning against this colour.
I'm planning on offering these as personalised on of a kind pieces in the studio....but I will have to get a wee bit quicker to make them profitable... this one took me 3 hours!
I loved doing this journal. I often get asked to do all sorts of unusual things and if it involves Lettering, Calligraphy and/or Bookbinding I will certainly consider it.
And we added 3 quotations throughout the book. This one is a particularly popular one: Babies are born, with a need to be loved, and never grow out of it.
And the next reads: Babies are stardust, sprinkled from the hand of God.
And the last one is on the humorous side: They are lovely once they are asleep, it's just getting them there that's the problem! Oh haven't we all been there! lol
Each heart has a little positive quotation on the front, is edged with gold and then assorted coloured ribbon is tied for the hanging. They are so cute. The hearts measure 10cm high.....too small for Calligraphy, so they had to be printed.
They make great gifts, so the first idea of making them for Wedding Favours may be an optional extra :o)
Every girl is a Princess....before she grows up to be a Goddess. This was a first trial piece which will be made to order. It's painted in a soft sugar pink and personalised with the little ones name.
The sign is a generous A4 size, so that's around 21cm x 29.7cm, on 8mm thick MDF. I am considering drilling the corners and hanging with sisal cord. The cost is £12.50 which includes P&P.
I love the contrast of white on black. Still easy to read but far more eye catching and striking, don't you think?
SO, still obsessed with those overlapping letters I made a simple arrangement of Art, Crafts and Gifts to go on the end. The grouped letters will slow people down a bit so they can work out what it says and hopefully guide them down the alley way or at least find me when they need my services.
And here it is in place. Using an already existing sign I had no need for planning permission which helped greatly.
I've also adjusted the sizes of the letters to make them more graphic...I can't wait to do more of them. 
Just a couple of days after my sisters birthday, it happens to be my brother-in-laws. I've been playing around with my cutting machine and just had to experiment with turning calligraphy into a cut letter design....I thought I'd share the results.
I'm finding these cut letters really inspiring and have ideas buzzing around my head, which I will share as they are produced. The idea for these is that I will produce names to order, especially for special occasions.
Once I bought the Foiling Machine I designed a whole new range of cards around this. I then needed to create some new portfolios to display them in. Many of my orders come from shops where my range is shown.
Once clamped the drilling takes place and the clamps make sure there is no shift while this happens. 
The clamp stays in place until after the sewing is complete.
The first page contains all my contact details
Towards the end of the book is a collection of the designs, all standing in a row which is good for comparison.
And of course, the all important 'How To Order' Page along with foil colour choices.
It's far easier to deal with the client direct as no-one knows my business as well as I do and with direct contact many options and possibilities can be explored. Unfortunately, when the portfolios are in other peoples and agents hands, it's not such a personal service and one which I think is important, but by sending out the portfolios I can reach a wider client base.....so it's 6 and 2 threes.
A5 sized Motivational and Inspirational Greeting Card. 
You've probably never heard of a Mantragram before. It certainly is not in Wikipedia..... and that's probably because I invented the word! Quite some years ago now I was told about Weathergrams, which are: 
I took the idea a stage further and thought that they would look wonderful with Inspirational and Motivational Quotes on them and perhaps even use them to celebrate the birth of a baby or even a marriage. They were made for longer lasing and more substantial materials and were very definitely made for inside the house.
From the time before I was even interested in Calligraphy, I have been interested in cut and etched letters, in fact the whole idea of learning lettering was to carve in stone and etch on glass. Somehow, the time taken to learn good letterform was grossly miscalculated and the resulting loss of my centre vision in 1997 then made it an impossibility. 
Using a computer programme, which incidentally is becoming a sharp learning curve and more than a little challenging, I can now sent my graphics to a cutter and cut out tiny letters or large ones.....no centre vision needed :o)
I've lots of ideas and they are coming thick and fast! At the moment I am at the playing stage and I know that I cannot rush the learning process, just as with calligraphy. There is no easy way to jump ahead.
These are just trial pieces and there will be more 'proper' work to come, of which I will share on the blog and may even add them to my shop.
I wanted to try something a little different than usual....
Closed the hearts attached to wires pop their heads above
And open they all stand in a row. 
Here's a concertina card made as a Get Well Soon Card.....
The calligraphy is in a pinks and gold
The outsides are covered in a soft, dusky pink Hahnemuhle
Materials Used: Gouache, Hahnemuhle, Canaletto, 
