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.

___________________________