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Showing posts with label holly. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holly. Show all posts

Thursday, 16 October 2025

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



Image shows how a quilt design might look if made from the 25 various red, dark green, silver and white fabrics from the "Festive 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.

Image is a photo of a table with fruit, and the table runner on it is a dark green fabric covered with a modern red berry and grey stalk hand drawn botanical pattern.
"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.

Image shows bright red-pink napkins and cutlery. the napkins have a grey botanical trailing leaf and berry pattern on them too.
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,


Image shows twelve squares, each bearing a pattern from the Festive Christmas Holiday Robins and berries Collection, in shades of red-pink, dark blue-green, white and silver grey.
Napkin collection mock-up, created
using Spoonflower's "Fill a Yard Tool"







Image shows four lengths of fabric laid out ready to form an infinity scarf, each bearing a pattern from the Festive Christmas Holiday Robins and Berries Collection, in shades of red-pink, dark blue-green, white and silver grey.
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 ;-).


Image shows a tea towel, with a dark blue-green background, upon which robins, each red, white and silver, are set in a half-drop pattern, Each robin is surrounded by his or her own spray of red berries with silver-grey branches.
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.

___________________________

Thursday, 8 December 2022

Christmas Foliage Graphics...and a Quiz




Hello there

Hope you're well and thriving, and ready for some fun, as well as a not one, not two, but three freebies to download, as befits the approaching festive season.

You're welcome to use any of the set of three graphics in this post, in any way at all that matches my angel policy. Just right-click, tap or click (depending upon your device) on the graphic(s) you'd like to use, and the graphic should download.

And if you're not in need of freebies right now...as well as if you are, this post is also a quiz.

Christmas Foliage Watercolour 2
Picture 2: Right-click, tap or click here to download




Each of the pics in this post was created in a different way. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to decide which method (A, B or C) matches which Picture 1, Picture 2 and Picture 3.

Free Christmas Foliage Watercolour Picture 3
Picture 3: Right-click, tap or click here to download.


Painting and Drawing Methods Used

Which of these methods do you think matches which picture? (You may have to scroll up  from here to see the pictures again).

Method A One of the pictures in this post was created using 100% digital watercolour painting and digital ink sketching,  in the wonderful Rebelle 5 app, (not an affiliate link, I just enjoy using it).

Method B One of the pictures was created by wetting hot-pressed, (ie smooth) 300g Bockingford Watercolour paper, splashing colours into wet areas, and then, when the areas were dry, inking in details with a black waterproof pen.

Method C One of the pictures in this post was created by sketching onto 300g cold-pressed Bockingford Watercolour Paper first, and then painting in details wet-on-dry (though white highlights were still added later).

Your answers

When you think you have your answers, check the PS at the bottom of this post, to see if you're right.

Please note, this quiz is just for fun, there are no prizes, and the answers are at the very bottom of this post, in the P.S. section.

Whilst I'm in the business of making sure that there's enough text here to obscure the answers, this is probably a great point to remind you that my Redbubble shop is still a great place to look for gifts (most still in time for Christmas, or of course, any other time of year), and that  the printable designs in my Craftsuprint shop can be downloaded 365 days a year.

With that said, I hope you had fun with this post today, and/or found something you wanted in one way or another. It's only left for me to wish you a happy week, and promise that there will be more from me soon as well as...



A P.S with the quiz answers...


And the answers are:

Picture 1 was painted using method B. The surface is smooth (ie hot pressed) and the end result has a pretty sploshy wet-in-wet look.

Picture 2 was painted using method A, and is therefore, 100% digitally painted, (even though the digital paper behind it has a really convincing rougher/"cold-pressed paper" look).

Which means that Picture 3 used method C, with its rougher paper and penwork that am feeling now might have been a little over-the-top :-) .

Whatever your answers, hope you had fun, and see you next week.



Thursday, 2 December 2021

Free December Holly Clip Art Illustration



Hello there. Hope you're doing wonderfully well. And unaccountably, just like that, it's December, and time for some new (and free) clip art to celebrate the month. 

As ever, you can download without signing up to anything, and you can use it in any of the (many, many) ways allowed under my angel policy. (Links back are always appreciated, but never required).

It's just a short post today, because I've got lots of new and exciting things to share in upcoming posts. 

Just thought I should get this to you ASAP, so that you can use it in your December projects if you wish.

Thank you ever so much for being here, and more soon.


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Friday, 19 November 2021

Holly and Christmas Trees Wrapping Paper Sheets

Hello there.

You may not believe it, but apparently I am already late in posting designs for Christmas.

In an attempt to remedy this, have just posted a new set of three sheets of Christmas/holiday wrapping paper that's fun and full of foliage, but versatile (yes, you could also use this in craft projects).

What's more, it looks as if it has 20% off until the end of today-Friday 19th Nov 2021.

Hope this helps and is fun for you.

More soon.

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Wednesday, 23 December 2020

Day 98/100: Two Things Today...




Originally, today's post was going to be a video run-through of some of the things that have been visited the most on BoundingSquirrel this year. 

And then I ended up sketching (or attempting to sketch) this variegated holly in watercolour and pen. It turns out that getting the creamy edges to show up really well is quite the challenge, so will give this another go at a later date.

In the meantime,  if you'd rather watch the video instead, you still can. It seems that the most whimsical illustrations came out on top this year.

Click here to watch the video on YouTube...


More tomorrow.



Monday, 7 December 2020

At Last-The Christmas Foliage Pattern (Day 82/100)

 This Christmas "Leaves and Berries" foliage pattern has taken a while, and almost didn't happen, as you've seen. But am now loving the results. It's got the potential to give you Christmassy décor and items that are cute and fun, but still classy and restful enough actually to be part of your home during Christmas.

Take a look at this throw pillow...



Or the design on a shower curtain and bathmat...


Christmas leaves and berries bathmat

Christmas shower curtain







It's lovely as a cute Christmas clock...

Christmas clock





But also cosy on this comforter...

Christmas comforter



And finally, as ever, if you enjoy sewing and would rather make your own creations, it's also available as a fabric on Zazzle...




Thanks for dropping by, and more tomorrow!

Saturday, 5 December 2020

Christmas Foliage and Ribbon Motifs (Work-in-Progress and Day 80/100)

 Hello there. Today is a Saturday (when I seem to have less time, bizarrely...) So, anyway, this is stage one of a new pattern, involving Christmas foliage and nature items, and ribbons. Kind of the bits-and-pieces you might be looking at if you were about to assemble a Christmas wreath.




So, as ever, the first stage is drawing motifs in outline (in this case digitally, in Krita.

Hope all is going as well as it can for you. More tomorrow!