Bramble and Burdock

Yes, it's that time of year again, and I'm again sorry for the lack of updates! I've been busy with other things, but I have found time recently to do some crafting for Christmas. I used this brilliant tutorial by Sara Adams over at Happyfolding to make an origami Christmas tree. I practised on a small one first and then increased the paper size to get the larger one (and I did need a lot of paper!) The large tree is about 46cm (18in) tall, so it works as a table-top tree quite nicely. The star on top is also origami, and I used this tutorial to make it. The baubles and tinsel are just cut from pearlescent paper. I also made some paper garlands to hang up, which Domokun was particularly excited about... I hope you all have a great Christmas and New Year. 2013 awaits!

The lesser-spotted Squibble. He's not a wading bird, he's just afraid of water...! Long time no post, but I thought I'd pop back with another offering for Illustration Friday , with the theme "Tall". This is a small painting I did a while ago when I was fiddling about with some black acrylic. I used a grey wash, let it dry and then painted over it with undiluted paint on a dry brush. This gives the nice "scratchy" quality to the lines.

But who is Round and to what does he object...?

This Christmas I received a wonderful book of illustrations by the famous British artist Henry Moore. He's more well-known for his very large and distinctive sculptures, but he was a very good draughtsman as well. As a gift for his young daughter, who loved sheep, he filled a special sketchbook full of wonderful pen and ink drawings of them. The best thing about the book is that all the backs of the pages have been reproduced faithfully as well, where the ink bled through the paper or rubbed off onto the opposite page, so it's almost like having the real thing! Brilliant!

Hello to all those still checking in on this blog and apologies for the lack of updates. Hopefully I'll have some more to show you in the new year. Anyway, here's wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! See you in 2012!

Here are two new crochet rabbits which I made recently. The first one is a vampire rabbit. Even though he's 862 years old, he still looks cute for his age! And this is another variation of my zombie rabbit design. This one has the added extra of a glow-in-the-dark brain! It's made from polymer clay and sewn into his head! The zombie rabbit has now been sold (yay!)

Two posts in one day - I'm getting prolific! Anyway, here's a design I did for a greeting card which fits nicely with this week's Illustration Friday topic of "hibernate" (click for a closer look). It's in the same style as my earlier design for the topic "stargazing". There are lots of hazards for a hibernating hedgehog - not least a curious fox! Hedgehogs of course like to curl up inside piles of wood, so remember to check your bonfire before you light it on November 5th!