A new card ... a quilled seagull ... and the magic of Herm Island

It's been a while since I last posted anything on Quilliance, for a very good reason - I've been away, to the magical island of Herm in the English Channel Islands. It is beautiful there, especially at this time of year when the island is literally covered in wild flowers. The sea is blue, the beaches are spectacular and the cliff walks absolutely stunning! Herm is a place that you can easily walk right around in two or three hours - but there is so much to see. We watched the comings and goings of numerous nesting sea birds, including puffins. We breathed in the clear sea air - such a tonic! And we collected hundreds of fabulous sea shells on the island's famous Shell Beach, including cowries, painted tops, scallops, wentletrap shells, golden periwinkles ... there are millions of them. In fact, one end of the beach is literally nothing but shells - layer upon layer of them - I was in paradise!

We got back last Thursday, and I couldn't wait to get started on creating some new card designs using some of the numerous photos that I took. But I've been so busy! I had craft markets to attend on Friday and Saturday (selling my quilled cards and jewellery), then there were special orders to fulfil from customers who met me there. But finally, this afternoon, I've been able to make my first Herm card, featuring a quilled black back gull flying over the cliffs surrounding the island's wonderful Puffin Bay. I hope you can see all the colours of the wild flowers on the cliff side - they were fantastic.

There's so much more to say about Herm, but unfortunately it will just have to wait for another day. When I get time, I'm hoping to use some of the tiny shells I collected in conjunction with my quilling. Watch this space!!