It's bluebell time!

We've had such beautiful warm weather here in the UK over the last couple of weeks that the bluebell season has arrived early! The photo background for this card was taken a couple of years ago in one of my favourite Hampshire bluebell woods where the purple/blue sheen of the flowers contrasts so perfectly with the bright green leaves of the beech trees.

I started out thinking that I'd make a butterfly for this card using a combination of mauve and white strips for the wings.  So I set up the pins on my quilling board, and started creating the first wing - only to find that I had no more white strips left. (Ordered some more in a hurry!!). Being the impatient soul that I am, however, I wanted to finish the card - so I turned the one 'wing' into a bluebell flower instead. (Many of our native English bluebells do in fact have little white markings in them when you look at the flowers closely.) Hopefully the bright, bright green I've used for the stem and leaves will go some way towards echoing the vibrant green that appears in our beech woods at this time of year. Can't wait to walk through those woods again ...

Meanwhile, I was thrilled yesterday to discover that the two articles I've had published in the December 2010 and February 2011 editions of the on-line crafting magazine Papers and Pixels have been referenced on the 'Notes from the Archivist' page of the Spring 2011 edition of Quill America (the quarterly newsletter of the North American Quilling Guild). Grateful thanks are due to my friend Paula for tipping me off about this. They've also mentioned two quilled card designs that I've recently had published in Papers and Pixels, too.

Not being a member of the NAQG (yet!!) I haven't ever seen Quill America, although I do of course receive regular copies of Quilling Today from the English Quilling Guild. Anyway, Quill America's editor very kindly sent me a copy of the archive page from the current edition - and I was so impressed! They actually present the article references in the kind of style you would normally see in a scientific journal, and the format is exceptionally professional. This has prompted me to check out the NAQG via their website, and it looks like a very proactive and well-run international organisation (not just for North American quillers) - so I have decided to join. I just sent off my membership application today, so I'm looking forward to seeing the whole magazine!

Anyway - back to the card making! Tonight I'm taking part in a fashion show at my local Women's Institute, and they've asked me to bring my cards along to sell as there should be a large audience in attendance. When I say 'taking part', I'm actually going to be modelling some of the clothes (three changes of outfits - it's going to be chaos in the changing room with 10 of us all trying to get dressed at once!). So I'm having to leave my card boxes with a kind friend who will be 'out front' dealing with the customers. I'm hoping to sell quite a few tonight, and also at my regular Friday market tomorrow morning. That's why my quilling tools have been working overtime this week!!