I’ve been head down deep in books and art lately – just how I like it! As well as revamping our Picturesque England and Wales series (watch this space), I’ve also produced 2 volumes of public domain British painting. These both have 650 images on them, volume 1 including 100 images by Pre-Raphaelite artists[…]read more
I have very fond memories from when I was young of being in my nan’s garden, surrounded by pretty flowers and making daisy chains on her lawn. She had a huge, long garden divided into 3 sections by trellis arches that had climbing roses growing over them. A rambling country house it was not –[…]read more
When I first started our original craft business (Mad about Cards) in 2002, I bought lots of things that I would use myself. I’d made lots of cards using pom-poms and pipe-cleaners which had always sold very well; caterpillar cards made with yellow and green pom-poms (very ‘Hungry Caterpillar’ in style!) and fairies using[…]read more
I was recently attending an art history class where we covered different artists or styles of art every week. Although I loved the education, almost invariably the paintings left me cold. Sounds odd eh, but then one of the other lovely ladies on the course questioned me as to what kind of art I liked.[…]read more
I paid a visit to my favourite little Mencap charity bookshop today. Almost invariably when I go there I come back with something old and interesting (at a bargain price!) so I’m always filled with anticipation when I go. I’m like a child in a sweet shop when it comes to old books! Today was[…]read more
I love vintage ads, so much so I have several on my walls at home. I think it’s the nostalgia and the history of them – a snapshot of a time gone by. I came across this one (and plenty more) in an old Canadian publication called the Farmer’s Magazine from 1913. Great isn’t it?[…]read more
When my mum died in 1992, one of her friends gave my step-father a sympathy card that contained a poem by Christina Rossetti. At the time I’d never heard it before and although my step-father couldn’t bring himself to read it at the time, I’ve always been touched by it and have given it in[…]read more
The late 19th and early 20th century saw a great deal of anthropomorphised animals in children’s literature, Louis Wain’s cats perhaps being the most famous but, for a while at least, flowers and even vegetables became the subject of such treatment. Cicely Mary Barker is a well-known name today for her Flower Fairies although these[…]read more
