Monday 30 May 2011

Baby Girl Gift - Birth Poster

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.

You can see more under my tag link list....JUST CLICK HERE for more They are certainly a popular gift idea for a new arrival.

Sunday 29 May 2011

Cut Letters - Birthday Card for Pam

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!


Saturday 28 May 2011

Ideal Baby Gift - Baby Birth Journal

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.

This book is far a baby boys photos and memories of when he was young. The first page is personalised with his birth details ..


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


Friday 27 May 2011

Happy Hearts for positive people

I love hearts don't you? I decided to buy some wooden hearts to make little hangings to give away as Wedding Favours. At first I painted them all bright colours and then decided or rather backed out and repainted them Ivory.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)


Thay are on sale at the Gallery for £5 each. As always, if you are interested, please email me direct and I can send you a list of quotations available.

Thursday 26 May 2011

Girls Bedroom Sign- Perfect for a Princess

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 will offer them for sale in my Folksy Shop very soon, but in the meantime if you want one to order, email me direct at inspiredbyscript@yahoo.co.uk

Wednesday 25 May 2011

New Gallery Sign

Well, I just HAD to have a go at cutting Vinyl! Sometimes I am hard to find.... my address is 288a High Street....but I am actually on the High Street, at the far end to be honest and down a wide alleyway.I often need to run out and direct my customers in especially if they are new or unfamiliar to the area.

I already have a large sign up outside my studio, but needed one at the end of the wall closest to the passing, potential, customers.
I love the contrast of white on black. Still easy to read but far more eye catching and striking, don't you think?

Although the word Gallery is easily seen I still thought it needed a bit of explanation as I didn't want people thinking I just sold Art and usually the word Gallery conjures up highly expensive pieces for the wall that only the well off can afford. My Art and work does not break the bank!

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.

Tuesday 24 May 2011

Cut Letters - It's all such great fun!

I'm fascinated with the cut letters I can produce and have been playing around with overlapping letters. This is the pre-cut card before the quotation is taken out....

The idea behind this was that the quotation would come out all in one piece....and I almost succeeded. These are the letters placed onto a piece of contrasting paper. Of course, when glued down and positioned, the quote will look very different, neater and more easily readable.


I've also adjusted the sizes of the letters to make them more graphic...I can't wait to do more of them.

Monday 23 May 2011

Cut Letters Birthday Card

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.

Sunday 22 May 2011

Wedding Album Portfolio

Perhaps it's because I actually make Wedding Albums, Guest Books and Photo Albums to order, as well as other books, that I find it almost impossible to actually use a shop bought one for my work.
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.


After printing and scoring the insides of the book and the covers covered (somehow that doesn't sound right) I then have to clamp them....


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


Then each page is devoted to a different design, with a photograph of other colour possibilities and the facing page.

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.


If you, or anyone you know is getting married.....go and take a look at my Wedding Website at http://northyorkshireweddings.co.uk It's a work in progress and there are items added all the time.


My Wedding Blog can be found at http://northyorkshireweddings.blogspot.com

Tuesday 17 May 2011

To Create Is To Touch The Spirit

A5 sized Motivational and Inspirational Greeting Card.

Only fellow artists will understand the meditative quality of creating something from scratch.

These cards would look stunning when mounted and framed.
Taken from original and printed in high quality on textured, Canaletto Card.
Each card comes with an envelope and is sent in a board backed envelope.

The quotation reads: To Create Is To Touch The Spirit This would make a great card for an artist or creative person

This card and others is for sale in my FOLKSYSHOP

Friday 13 May 2011

What is a Mantragram?

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:
poems of about ten words or less. They are written on narrow strips of kraft paper cut from used grocery store bags. They are hung on bushes or trees in gardens or along mountain trails. There are generally seasonal and are left out for three months or longer. The name means 'weather writing' -- notations by sun, wind, rain, and possibly ice. Written with the proper inks, the writing lasts. Let them weather and wither like old leaves. In composing one, let the meaning grow out of things, with some action involved if possible -- in a hear and now. The meaning is not all on the surface. The unexpected is essential. It is not a condensation, but a moment of vision.
Taken from this link here: http://www.mlhp.net/alum/weathergram.html

Then some time later our great calligraphy friend Fran Sloan died suddenly and we (calligraphers all over the world) decided to make weathergrams in her memory and the term: Frangrams were invented. We did Fran proud and we hung them in our gardens all over the world as her funeral was taking place.
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.

So they are a cross between Mantras and Prayer Flags. Mantra being a sound of energy. Generally I make these to order but I do have a few stock Mantragrams for sale at the studio. Why not have a go at making a Weathergram yourself?

Wednesday 11 May 2011

Cut Letters

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.
Before loosing my sight however, I did a few pieces where I cut letters from card and mounted these on top of card again, resulting in a sort of relief effect. Again, loosing my sight would make the chances of me turning any future ideas into reality.....until my new toy arrived 2 days ago!

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 think they look superb and I am well pleased with the results so far.

I hope you like them too. :o)

Hand Made Birthday Card

I wanted to try something a little different than usual....

This is a 3 fold birthday card that I have just finished. The lettering is Foiled in the most gorgeous Hot Pink.

Closed the hearts attached to wires pop their heads above


And open they all stand in a row.


Materials Used: Canaletto, Foil, and wire

Hand Made Get Well Soon Card

Here's a concertina card made as a Get Well Soon Card.....
The calligraphy is in a pinks and gold
to match the inside

The outsides are covered in a soft, dusky pink Hahnemuhle


and gold lettering compliments the gold butterflies wonderfully


Materials Used: Gouache, Hahnemuhle, Canaletto,

3mm ribbon and card covers.


Concertina Cards are superb for special occasions

and are £7.50 each.


If you would like one made,


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