Three Christmas Festive Free Gifts -With Huge Thanks

Happy Christmas Gingerbread Gif
Click or tap here to download

Hello there

Hope life is treating you well. And as this week's even busier than last for many, will keep this brief.

This week, as promised, is all about gifts for you, and my huuuge thanks to you for being here each week, and for your support through the year.

And now for (oddly appropriately) three gifts, meant simply for extra festive fun and sparkle.

1) First of all, the Christmas e-card you see above-already small-sized so it should be OK to send or put anywhere online. Ideal now that time is tight for sending physical cards, and/or you're welcome to use it on your website or social media as well. (As ever with my freebies, links back to BoundingSquirrel.Com and credit are always much appreciated, but never required, for everything on this page. Gifts are gifts ).

2) Secondly, it turns out that gingerbread men/people make very jolly pattern motifs for a printable paper...

Free Christmas Gingerbread Men/People
Printable Pattern. Click or tap
here to download.

At least, this was fully printable to a great A4 size at 300dpi when I uploaded it. (If you're a regular reader here, you'll know that I can't always control what Google does with the sizing of my uploads, in its quest to be "helpful"😊).

Am hoping  though, this should give you some emergency wrapping paper for smaller gifts, backgrounds or craft projects (or to use online, in which case it should definitely be big enough for many uses).

3. Last but not least, here's a printable digital gold and glitter effect border...

Digital Golden Glitter Effect Border on White
Click or tap here to download.

In other words, a way to add some simple sparkle to notes and offline and online backgrounds without making any mess.

You might just find yourself using it well beyond Christmas, too, as it can be used in either direction, and is simple enough to fit in with many projects. (The same caution about sizes applies as it did to the download above, but otherwise, it's yours...Have fun with it.).

Finally

I'm taking some time off now until the New Year, but do have a scheduled post for you after Christmas.

In any event, I hope that whether or whatever you're celebrating to not at this time, you can have things be for you exactly as you want, and that somehow, all our love and good wishes for each other can finally make their way into a wider world of peace and prosperity for 2026.

Once again, my huge thanks and love to you for being here.

More (reasonably) soon.

___________________________

An Accidental Series of Watercolours...

New Christmas watercolours ready
 to become gift tags... 

Hello there

It's a busy time of year for many, so this will be a quick post.

Just wanted to share these cute little watercolours with you before they go on their way as gift tags. Painting them helped me feel a ton more festive, so hope they can do the same for you, if you're feeling the need for that. 

And, it seems, I was soooo focused during the painting of them that I *completely* failed even  to notice a squally storm outside the window, (even though I have *really* good hearing). According to the Computer Man,  the sudden storm had been howling and rattling at our front and back windows. And I completely believe him, but share this as a happy tale of the power of art to transport a person completely into their own happiest world.

When I'd finished I didn't just learn about the storm...But I also realised that a milestone I've been "trying" to achieve for ages (creating a proper series of traditionally painted watercolours) had come about effortlessly...because I'd just been thinking of them as "gift tags".

Next week

Next week will be my final post before Christmas. And I'm already working on it, because gifts and goodies for you will be the order of the day. In the meantime, have a great week, and thank you so much for being here.

More soon.

Warm Memories and Digital Hybrid Scrapbooking

A digital hybrid scrapbook page...

Hello there

Hope you've had a good week. As promised, this week's offering is *completely* different to last, (though huge thanks to all the lovely people who bought something-it meansthe world).

This week though, I wanted to share something I've been doing just for fun, i.e. digital and hybrid scrapbooking.

I've been experimenting with it for a while, and wanted to share this one. 'Cos I don't know about you, but the weather here is currently dark, gloomy, wet, cold, and distinctly uninviting.

So, it felt like the perfect time to remember a lovely summer birthday trip from earlier in the year, to the totally-gorgeous-but-really-unsung Capel Manor Gardens. I actually took about 120 photos on the day. But even a digital A4 page has limited space. So these serve to remind me, that yes it really was that warm, bright and stunning...And yes, there really was cuteness and whimsy round every corner too...(Have you ever seen a cuter, (or more ancient) little cat door?)

But what *is* digital hybrid scrapbooking?

"Hang on a minute, though," you might be thinking. "Back up a bit, please. What the heck *is* digital hybrid scrapbooking anyway?"

Great question.  I'm fairly new to this, so may need to revise this description in the future. But my current understanding is that:

♥ Traditional scrapbooking is 100% physical and 3-D, with no computer involvement (unless you scan or photo the finished piece to show to others).

♥ Digital scrapbooking uses items that are 100% digital/created digitally. So...

♥ That means that digital hybrid scrapbooking is any process that combines these two methods.

I put today's offering into the last category, because of the way in which it was created (of which more below).

How I created this page

1. I started off with a painted abstract background in digital acrylics, like this (painted in Krita).

Small abstract summer
background example

2. I lightened the original background with digital paint in Krita (in which I worked for the rest of the digital parts of the process). Onto that, I placed smaller versions of the two digital photos, and also added shadows and framing digitally.

3. Here's the hybrid bit. The rose drawing  (scanned in and uploaded below too) was done 100% physically. I wanted to experiment and see whether or not it's really true that you can use eye-shadow, set with hairspray, an alternative, cheaper, vegan and obviously one hopes,  skin-friendly, alternative to pastels. 

The good news is, you can-if you use the right paper.  In this case, the first paper to hand (a receipt printed on thermal paper) turned out to be a surprisingly good surface.

Soft pink roses on...the back of a receipt!

(This whole section betrays that I have eyeshadow, hairspray *and* a hair dryer...but only ever use any of them for art. :-). But that's another story).

Then it was time for...

4. Adding in the handwriting. Yes, I did it digitally, but still, yes, it needs work. (If you've been here a while, you'll know I still struggle the most with hand-lettering.

and

5. The finishing digital pink splatters, to unify everything.

 If there are any take-aways from this...

If there are any take-aways from this (and there don't have to be):

♥ Any stage of this could have been done either physically, or digitally, depending on your preference,

♥ Krita is *spectacular* for digital art or hybrid journaling or scrapbooking,  and

♥ It was massive fun, so I'm going to keep on experimenting like this.

Finally...

That's quite enough for this week. thanks so much for being here (and for reading down this far).
Have a great week, and there'll be...

More soon.

___________________________

New Poinsettia Florals, and Yup, Sales...

Click or tap here to see/buy this at
 Pixels.com

Hello there

If you're feeling that you've *already* heard enough talk of sales. then please feel absolutely free just to enjoy this week's bright and cheerful watercolour poinsettias.

If you *are* into sales...

If you *are* into sales, then it would be remiss of me not to mention that:

♥ My designs on Pixels are 20% off most items until December 2nd 2025 with coupon code: XPRDFU

(For instance, these poinsettias especially suit greeting cards and Christmas ornaments, ;-) ).

Update on Dec 1st 2025-my Craftsuprint sale has now ended.

♥ For crafters-all my main poinsettia design sheets are already 20% off , *and*

My entire Craftsuprint store will be 20% off from November 27th-30th 2025 inclusive

♥ Redbubble, Zazzle and Spoonflower discounts and sales may still be buzzing about, but utterly beyond my control.

I did though, want to show you the alternative design option for these poinsettias, which I'm really liking on, eg:

This all-over print tote-bag at Redbubble, and

Red and Green Poinsettias 
All-Over Print Tote Bag

Red and Green Poinsettia Fabric

-Fabric and other items at Spoonflower.

And finally...

And there you have it. Thank you so much for reading down this far.

 I'll just wish you a great week, whatever you end up doing with it. 

More soon-of the distinctly non-salesy variety.

___________________________

Thank You

Thank You ecard-Click or tap here to download
(Image v. much sized only for ecard/screen use)

Hello there

As you can probably guess, the subject of this is a huge "Thank you"...To everyone and everything who reminded me (since my previous post-(in all its now mostly-struck-out glory...)...

♥ That the reason most people come here is to look at happy and joyful things, (yay!)...

♥ That if I really need a "niche", that's a fine one in itself, and...
♥ That it's perfect OK if I don't physically have time to post examples of every single design from and to  absolutely everywhere. I have a stockist/Linktree page which covers that.

Then, literally to cap it all... My right knee weighed in with mega-twinging. Which, for me is always a not-so-polite nudge that, "Clare, love...You've been walking in the wrong direction on this one..." 

As soon as I changed back to the central focus of whimsy and joy-those twinges were gone. (Which settled the matter once and for all, as I quite like at least being able to get from A to B :-).

Sooo

Enough from me, and huuuuge apologies for the confusion and waffle last week.

 I'm keeping some of the re-design, and still likely to change the main post sending day to earlier in the week (as with this one).

But otherwise-it's back just to a focus on whimsy and joy. Because who doesn't need a bit more of that right now, anyway?

Thank you so much for your patience, and for being here, and enjoy your week.

More soon.

___________________________

More Winter/Festive Florals

Free Christmas Anemones Background
Tap or click here to download and use

Hello there

Hope your week has been going well. 

And yes, if you were also here last week, your eyes do not deceive you. Those winter/Christmas anemones have now officially escaped their vase as well, to become this free download.

As ever, if you have any questions about how to use this, the answers should be in my "angel policy"

And though I uploaded it at a printable size, I can't vouch for download quality here on Blogger. As ever, if you need to print this at high quality, consider buying the file at full-resolution, over at Craftsuprint.

The ongoing and huge loyalty of so many crafters, cardmakers, and other people making lovely creative things (thanks *so much* especially if you're one of them and reading this) Update on Nov 17th  deletes previous text with the strikethrough symbol.  has also helped me make a rather big decision. Read on for details...

Site News

Long story short, for the last several months, I've been feeling too much like the proverbial mouse on a wheel, instead of a happy artist. I've been guilty of spreading myself too thinly, uploading to too many places...and not having nearly enough time left to create joyful art.

Don't get me wrong. I still love art, and everyone who has been kind enough to follow and buy all my items in so many different places over the years. Thank you so much.

But the time has come, for the sake of sanity, keeping my art high-quality and fun, and therefore making sure my products continue to be of that same quality...to focus my efforts much more carefully, on...

Designing original art downloads and supplies for people who use them to create their own crafts and projects.

 I've chosen this route, (initially as an experiment), for several reasons.

♥ Firstly, I specially love to design items knowing that someone else will be able to build upon them even further, and make them their own.

♥ This could well be because of the love and support (and yes, purchases...thank you so much) I've already received from crafters from all sorts of places. A nicer bunch of people would be hard to find anywhere.

♥ It could also be because my whimsical style seems naturally to fit in this area. It wasn't something I planned at all...It just happened...

As you may already be able to tell from the change in logo, tagline and some other site details, I've already altered BoundingSquirrel.Com to help support this change.

Calling all cardmakers, crafters, journallers and other people who create things...

All of this is despite the fact that I personally am much less good at crafting than I am at art and design. That was a major factor in my taking so long to go down the craft supplies path...If I had fabulous fine-motor skills myself, I'd have gone down this path some time ago.

 So, if you're the opposite (ie you love to craft, but not so much to draw, paint and design) and would like free printable craft supplies in exchange for providing pictures of your makes, please get in touch).

 If you have any thoughts about these downloads, or any ideas about future printables (or any other kind of art you'd like to see, there is now a contact form at the bottom of every blog page, and also and updated contact page here.

And if you're not a crafter...

But if you're not a crafter, you're still so very welcome to keep reading BoundingSquirrel and enjoying the images. Most links to previous products will also remain in place, and I really appreciate your support too. It's just that my focus is changing/emerging for the first time. Thank you for your understanding.

Phew...

That was a long one. Apologies for all the text. I'll leave you to your week, with huge thanks for you being you, (and a pic of the "Robins and Berries" collection, that's also available to buy now as printable papers ;-).

Click or tap here
to see and buy the collection
at Craftsuprint.com

Have a great week.

More soon.
___________________________

New Painting: Festive Wishes-Christmas Floral Art

My"Festive Wishes" Christmas floral
painting

Hello there

Just popping in to show you "Festive Wishes", a gently Christmas/seasonal/winter/holiday/ whatever-you-call-it-in your part of the world, painting that celebrates Winter Anemones (the flowers are also known as "Christmas Roses").

Seasonal but natural, I have to confess that I'm a bit in love with this one, and hope you will be too.

Update on Nov 12th: If this grabs you too, it's now available as part of a download here.

In any event, hope this brings some floral joy to your day, and there'll be more about it (with extra downloads) in my next post.

In any event, thanks so much for being here.

More soon.

___________________________

Just in time for Halloween...

Free Halloween Images

Hello there

In haste, but just in time for this Friday (if you're reading this near to my typing it, anyway), here's a selection of my Halloween images for this year, all on one sheet. I did promise the crafters reading this that there would be more soon for you, and with apologies for the delay, here it is.

They are all classic "black on deep orange watercolour," Halloween motifs  (cat, haunted house, bats,  etc), with a gentle twist. All the black images have been stencilled, to give a slightly grainy "old-fashioned printing," effect for extra spookiness.

And they're all ready to download, print and use.

To use them, you have a couple of options:

1. If you tap or right-click on the image above, you're welcome to download and use this one for free (credit always appreciated, but never required).

As ever though, I can't vouch that they'll come out the A4 size they went in (Google does a really strange re-sizing thing  that I can't always control), or

2) They are also available to buy and download now at a very-definitely-fully-printable-A4 size at Craftsuprint.Com.

Wishing you a fun week, with as much or as little spookiness as works for you.

More soon.

___________________________

Announcing...The Festive Christmas Holiday Robins and Berries Collection

My "Festive Christmas Holiday Robins and Berries
 Collection" available now on Spoonflower

Hello there

It's that time of year again. When I make a post that will delight some (who may be wondering what took me so long to get around to it) and annoy others (who may not wish to see this kind of thing until December 1st at the earliest).

There are good reasons for this

For those in the latter camp, please bear with me. But as this is, above all,  a collection of co-ordinating designs for on-demand printing onto fabric and wallpaper, I really do need to post this now, so that people who want to make things (or plan special festive decor) have a chance to do so before the actual main event.

"Festive Red Berries and Silver Grey Branches
 on Dark Green," Table Runner

Plus, as I type, Spoonflower says there's a discount of up to 30% on purchases made at the moment (discounts being applied at checkout, as far as I can see). If it's gone by the time you click this, it's not false urgency-obviously, I just have no control at all over Spoonflower's  sale schedule.

Festive grey on pink red botanical napkins,
available on Spoonflower.

Either way, I can say, hand on heart, that I put a *lot* of work into making this the best it could be. So whilst there are main showstopper type patterns, there are also less busy ones, very simple blender designs, and even solid colours like this pinky-red, so that if you're seeking a plain, exact match with other colours in the designs (eg for quilting) you should be able to find it.

There's fun, too...

If you're wondering how I designed the main picture for this post, no, I haven't suddenly become a quilt designer. It's just that Spoonflower's own tools for seeing how designs might look as a set of festive dinner napkins,

Napkin collection mock-up, created
using Spoonflower's "Fill a Yard Tool"

 or an infinity scarf,

Infinity Scarf Fabric Lengths mock-up, created
using Spoonflower's "Fill a Yard Tool"

 for example, are *really* easy to use, and massive fun.

Finally

If all this isn't your thing, thank you so much for bearing with me. And you never know, as Spoonflower does make items on demand as well as sell fabrics, you might yet know someone, later in the year, who'd love a robin tea towel, for example ;-).

Red Robins and Berries Tea Towel,
available on Spoonflower

Thank you

In any event, thank you so much for reading down this far, and I really appreciate your being here.

More soon, and on a totally different topic, I promise.

___________________________

New Art: Remember That the Magic is Within You...

"Remember That The Magic Is Within You"
Image: Clare Walker

Hello there

And I hope life's treating you well, whether in autumn (as here in the UK) or the spring of the southern hemisphere.

It was the shortening of the days that had me feeling more mournful than I'd have liked...When a wise whisper inside encouraged me to, "Remember That The Magic is Within You,".

So, in honesty, I created this first of all as a cheering-up, "note to self". But seeing as it turned out better than I thought it would (with a ton of new ideas and options I've never even thought to use before...Like creating my own digital stencils in Rebelle...Soooo fun!).

Well, then it seemed only right to share, in case the message resonated with/could be useful to anyone else. Yes, it's shoppable (and commentable) if you'd like, here. But my main aim  in posting it was to spread some cheer as we go into October.

And yes, Southern Hemisphere peeps-I hear you. Enjoy your spring (and know that this should still be here in April, if you need it).

With that, I'll leave you to your week. Thanks so much for reading down this far, and for being here-I really appreciate it, and you.

More soon.

___________________________

The Tale of Some Whimsical Pumpkin Art...And a Cosy Halloween Collection...

White Pumpkin Line-and-Wash Sketch

Hello there, and hope you're well, and ready for some whimsy, amidst it all.

This week's tale starts innocently enough with a white pumpkin, that I sketched last weekend (see above), before it made its journey into soup. Or so I thought.

"Pumpkin Surprise" Number One

For a start, the pumpkin, despite being round, did not "play ball," as expected. (For which read, "I was completely unable to slice through it neatly like butter-as per celebrity chef demos, etc- to make said soup". Or at all, really). The resulting roasted "pumpkin crisps/chips" that I had been able to hack desperately from its unyielding sides *were* delicious, though. They just ended up in a hastily-re-arranged veg soup, instead.

And last Monday,  that was the fun anecdote with which I thought I'd introduce this sketch this week and have a short post. But, oh, no...

"Pumpkin Surprise," Number Two

The pumpkin had other ideas. This image wiggled and jiggled in my mind until I made it into a downloadable card sheet, which has a card front that can end up like this:

Click or tap here to browse or buy the
download sheet that makes this card front...

And along with the pretty "Pumpkin Polka Dots," background, I thought *that* would be it. 

And it seemed fair, because I haven't posted much for craft-loving people recently, who I know drop in here. If that's you, you might also like the 20% off sale on many of my Halloween and autumnal designs at Craftsuprint this week. As I don't know when you'll be reading this, I don't know whether it will have ended, but it's due to run until the end of September 2025).

But, in any event, that wasn't all. Cue:

Pumpkin Surprise Number Three

The pumpkin polka dots were now dancing around in my mind. And made their way onto Spoonflower, for a fabric and wallpaper outing.

As a final twist, somehow everything for a cosy autumnal Halloween collection (for who wants an extra-scary one right now anyway? Not me. And if you like whimsy and nature, I'm guessing maybe not you either) came together.

Anyway, I digress, because the "Cosy Halloween Mini Collection" (featuring pumpkins, black cats, golden leaves and gentle "flower of life," geometrics), is *also* available now.

Cosy Halloween Collection at Spoonflower,
by Clare Walker shown
demonstrating Spoonflower's
 "12 napkins" template.

The image above was created using one of Spoonflower's template makers. In this case, how a collection of 12 napkins might look using the fabrics in the mini-collection.

Warning: Spoonflower's template design tool also includes cheater quilts, infinity scarves and other delights and is mildly addictive, even if, like me, you've never personally sewn a quilt. You can give it a go with this collection by tapping or clicking on  this link.

And now?

And now, yes, finally, those white pumpkins seem to have found all their right place, living happily ever after. Sometimes, you just have to go with what the designs seem to want, rather than logical plans.

If you've read down this far-thanks so much, and have a wonderful week.

More soon.

___________________________

New Painting: Autumn Glory

"Autumn Glory" by Clare Walker
Click or tap here to browse or buy.
(There's no watermark on purchased items :-))

Hello there

As ever, I hope life is treating you well, whether it's autumn, spring, or neither of those seasons making their way into your corner of the world at the moment. 

Here it is autumn, complete with cool winds, and a sudden need for soups and stews.  And although our neighbour's silver tree hasn't quite reached the stage you see in the picture above yet, I have so many memories, photographs and previous attempts to draw upon, the time just felt right to give this another go. The result has made its way into my collection of images for sale at Pixels.Com.

A little bit more info about my art on Pixels/Fine Art America

In a previous post, I did the best I could to explain why most of my images will be there as we move forward. As a result of that, lots of questions have been asked, so I'll do my best to answer them here.

1. No, not all my previous art is there (yet). But if you like a specific picture from the past, you can ask me to put it up there, (eg with my new contact form). This is what someone did this week for my "Nasturtiums," which are now also available on Pixels:

https://pixels.com/featured/autumn-glory-vibrant-autumnal-tree-clare-walker.html

2. Yes, my designs are available on other items as well as prints, eg stickers, greeting cards and even jigsaws...

But please be aware that not all items may be manufactured locally to you (there is a map here which explains this point better than I can).

3. Yes, you can change the currency to one more local to you if your device isn't showing the one you need. Just scroll right down to the bottom of any page of Pixels/Fine Art America to where it says "Location Settings".

4. The site with my designs on it is hosted, run and administered by Pixels,Com/Fine Art America. (If  I were to run anything myself, nothing would ever get painted). But it is one of the few ways in which I can display a clear collection of my own items to you, whilst still being paid royalties when items sell, and not having my items jumbled with everyone else's (something people have talked about a lot, in the past).

5. Despite it not being my shop (and therefore, my not having much control over anything except wall-art prices), I still keep being asked questions. I've done my best to answer them here. But the real people who can answer them better are probably the Pixels/Fine Art America team, whose contact page is here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 One way or another, I hope these answers help and may inspire you to want to purchase a yummy item or two...

On that note, I'll leave you for now, with another pic of "Autumn Glory," after what's been a lot of words (even for me):

Thanks for being here, for your support, and for reading down this far. You're amazing.

More soon.

New Painting: Turning the Corner

Hello there

Hope life is treating you well. But if you're in need of some peace, relaxation and whimsy, then this week's new painting may be just the thing.

"Turning the Corner"
Click or tap here
to comment or find out more...

This came about very quickly, to capture a golden September moment in the park, when vibrant flowers were still bursting through railings (all the brighter after rain)...And the sun seemed ever brighter just around the corner (hence the title: "Turning the Corner").

The links above will take you to this specific painting, within my new online shop.

That "just moving in feeling,"

 

Truthfully, I still have that "just moving in feeling," in relation to the shop.

But my aim is (finally!) to have all my designs for sale in one place (as people have asked me to do many times. This will give a lot more time for actually making art (yay!) whilst also  making life 50 times easier for you and other lovely people actually to find designs you like.

There'll be much more on this in the weeks and months ahead. But for now, it's all going well. And have just discovered that yes, I *can* still offer you greeting cards designed specifically for that purpose, but based on a particular painting.

The first of these is today's painting...

Tap or click here to shop for
"Turning the Corner," greeting cards

It made sense to start here, because there are so many occasions on which you might send a card to someone who's turned a corner in their life...Or just to cheer them up with some relaxing whimsy.

Maybe I've turned a corner too, and am starting to feel at home in my art's new home as well :-).

Thanks so much for being here. Please watch this space...

More soon.

___________________________

Relaxing With The Caterpillars...

Humming-Bird Hawk Moth Caterpillar Mixed Media Sketch

Hello there

Hope you are thriving (and doing exactly the amount you do or don't want to do at the moment).

For my own part, I meant to do so much, and yet, somehow...

Here's the thing. This August feels so *pressured* for some reason. Maybe it's all self-imposed, or maybe you can relate?

Anyway, there were *so* many things I meant to do this week. To present to you, and to to help you with. (Yes, I see you, honestly, all the people to whom I've been promising more YouTube videos since forever...). 

And then there's that "tariff" word...

As you'll know if you've spent any time here, I do my very, very best to avoid politics here altogether. If you love happy and whimsical art, you're welcome here, and that's that.

But as the elephant has made its way into our actual room here, it feels like there's little choice but to say something.

To anyone worried about tariffs affecting their shopping for my designs, my best answer so far (after hours of searching, and-unsurprisingly-very little previous knowledge of international trade) goes like this: 

"Everyone's geographical situation is different, so my trying to say anything here (or even steer all my designs into one place) wouldn't help a bit, and might make things worse. Please just get to know what's best for you personally, wherever you are, and I'll do my very best to accommodate that if I can, in considering in which shops to place designs."

Luckily...

Luckily, online downloads remain easy to access wherever you are, as far as I know... (I'll be introducing new items to my Craftsuprint shop soon, for that very reason).

So, obviously...

So, obviously, the only thing to do in response to all this weirdness was... to hang out with the caterpillars. :-)

For context, we had had  a humming-bird hawk moth visit our window boxes a couple of weeks ago. She was verrry interested in a particular plant with "pinwheel" leaves that was growing rather rampantly in our box we dedicated to wild flowers a few years back.

(I say "was" growing rampantly, because six caterpillars make incredibly short work of an awful lot of leaves. Which, in our case, suited us just fine, and probably saved us a lengthy autumn tidying/weeding session :-).

And so it came about that our enticement to live in the moment once more has come, this week, from an insight into the not-so-tiny and voraciously-eating lives of six fat caterpillars. Who I strongly suspect may have been the inspiration for the Very Hungry Caterpillar young children's board book by the late, great, Eric Carle (Affiliate link proudly placed to leading to the book back there. Because who doesn't love a book that-as far as I remember- has pages  actually *designed* to look munched?)

Artistic License?

I'll keep you posted if we see anything progressing with these really now rather large creatures (1.5 inches each at least, and growing by the day).

In the meantime, in the interests of accuracy, I'll close with The Computer Man's photo of one of these beings, so that you can see that I have liberally used artistic license, in giving them extra and wider pink feet, and, um...eyes.

Hummingbird Hawk Moth Caterpillar
 (Photo by Jim Fernbank).

The funny thing is, despite everything going on in the world, a few minutes of "caterpillar watching", really *is* incredibly calming. Who knew?

And with that, I'll leave you to your day.

Thanks so very much for being here, *and* for reading down this far.

More soon.

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A New Floral Painting (And A Very, Very, New Option)

"Euphorbia River" Painting by Clare Walker
Available at Pixels.Com

Hello there

Hope all's well and happy for you.

Here, as you see, there's a lot that's new here. Firstly, the "Euphorbia River", above.

The story behind it

I have to give huge thanks to my friend and very-talented-photographer-in-her-own-right, Marilyn Doyle, that this painting ever even happened.

She shared tales of a happy afternoon. And I was so transfixed by her photograph:

Photo by Marilyn Doyle, used here
and as a reference with her permission.

that I immediately asked if I could use it as a reference...and found myself with a completed painting in an afternoon, pretty much, (if you come here often, you'll know how rare that is).

So, just enormous thanks to Marilyn for such an inspiring photo, and for the use of your photo here on the blog too. (I would link to her as well, but she doesn't have a website as far as I know).

I mention this all here because I really want Marilyn to get the credit she deserves. And because it's an unusual story behind the "Echinacea Euphorbia River" painting...And because I've already wondered whether these are echinacea (coneflower) or rudbeckia flowers...Or even something else...

Going on their cone shape, and the large prickly seedheads in the middle...I'm sticking with the Echinacea/Coneflowers. But the debate is on, if you want it to be...I'm about to start it on Instagram.

Update on Aug 9th: Have just remembered a great thing about the new shop for your browsing and buying pleasure ;-)...You can *comment* below images. Yay! If you have an idea about what these are, please comment here. Many thanks!

Update on August 10th 2025: Have just discovered that the original flowers may have been Euphorbias.
Really not sure what to do about this yet. Update on September 13th: The title of this painting is now..."Euphorbia River". You live and learn :-).

Hang on a minute. What about this new option thingy?

Ah yes, the new offerings via Pixels.Com/FineArtAmerica. Just in case you're thinking that I may have gone out of my mind to launch this idea on a Friday evening in August at the bottom of a post about something else... Well, yes, I might.

But this isn't false  modesty or anything. It's just the softest possible "launch" (those quotation marks are working particularly hard, there :-) ), so that I can keep everyone whose been such a support in the loop, whilst still being able to correct inevitable mistakes as we discover them.

There will be more on this, I promise. And with that, thanks as ever for reading this far, and for your support...and have a lovely weekend.

More soon.
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Happy Harebells...And (Sort-Of) Christmas in July...

"Happy Harebells" sketch...

Hello there, and I hope you are thriving in your corner of the world.

This week's art and designs are such a mixed bag, that, like football (soccer!) they are a game of two halves.

First came this sketch of harebell flowers, that then made its way onto a really dear friend's birthday card. (I think she might actually be a newsletter reader too, so this comes with even more good wishes. And speaking directly to that person for just a second, no, I won't put this on anything for sale until you've had loads of time to enjoy it, and maybe not even then. Thank you for being you. ;-)).

Then there is/was... the "Christmas in July" situation...

And just like that, here we are again. The point in the year that astounds any sane person. Namely, that July is the traditional time in which artists and designers are supposed to prepare designs so that they are available/algorithm noted etc, in time for Christmas or pre-Christmas purchases.

And yes, I'm aware that it's the very last day of July, as am typing this.

In truth, I just couldn't face even trying to get festive in the midst of summer weather (and ooh, you know, the state of the world, etc).

But then some little robins and berries just made their way into some art the other week. And what do you know? That snowy robin led to an entire collection of designs.

I hasten to add, they are still very much a "work in progress".

But if you'd like a quick peek at the collection in its rough form, here's a photo.

Thanks to Jim for this pic, who came into our bedroom
when I was trying to get this into a photo, and took it for me.

So please watch this space, a little later in the year. (Update on September 10th 2025- the printable papers are for sale here, and the full collection on fabrics and wallpaper at Spoonflower here).

And with that, I'll leave you to your day (and huge thanks for reading down this far).

The next instalment might not be for a couple of weeks or so, as there is a huge amount still to do, not only for this collection, but also on items that'll be fun for you much sooner.

But there will be...

More soon.
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Here's Some Pink Cosmo Goodness...

Pink Cosmo Sketch: Inktense Paints and Sakura pen
on Artway Indigo paper

Hello there

In the midst of everything else of much greater importance in the world, if you want to relax, take a breath, and look at something pretty for a moment, there at least, I might be able to help.

The picture you see above is a sketch, based on pink cosmo flowers at Capel Manor (yes, from our trip the other week, and captured in a new, handmade-paper-and-as-far-as-I-know-vegan Artway Indigo journal/sketchbook, to which I treated myself last week. 

(And yes, if you fancy one too, that is an affiliate link, so I'd get paid a small commission if you purchased through it. But it's fine if you don't, are curious, and just want to have a look :-) ).

Good news for crafters

Which all, in a roundabout way, adds up to some good news if you're one of my readers who enjoys a downloadable craft sheet. I've started making them again. So go here if you're looking for some colourful pink cosmo crafting goodness, where you'll find a sheet that'll help you get the look of all that original paper and watercolour more instantly. 

If you keep to the card as designed (don't feel you have to!) it'll give you a result something like this:

Tap or click here to see  and buy this
as a card sheet at Craftsuprint...

Either way,  hope it gives you, or a crafter you know,  lots of fun and joy to work with.

And that just about wraps things up for the week. Be safe, well and happy. And thanks so much for being here, and for reading down this far.

More soon

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