Gardening How - To Surprise!

I was pleasantly surprised to be informed that my pressed flower cards have been featured in the "Great Garden Gifts" section of the January edition of Gardening How-To magazine.  It's a gorgeous issue full of beautiful blooms and practical gardening advice, such a treat for those of us who can't wait to get growing again!

Just time for Christmas gift giving, all boxes of pressed flower cards are 15% off.  And, free gift wrapping is available if ordered before December 20th.

Thanks to the editors of Gardening How-To for your surprise feature!

New bookmark size mold and deckles

What's this, you ask? 

This is a 2 x 7" mold and deckle for making bookmarks.  I have been trying to locate one for years, but no one seems to make them.  Now Bob, my craftsman makes them for me, along with the 5 x 7" mold and deckles featured in my Going Green Paper Making Kits. 

I just got the bookmark mold and deckles in last week, and I'm looking forward to making some fun handmade paper bookmarks with the kids for Christmas gifts this year. 

Finished Batik on Paper

Here are a few of the paper batiks I completed last week, after I removed all of the beeswax.  They certainly ended up being interesting pictures to say the least!

The first picture (on the left) was my attempt at drawing/painting with wax.  Now you know why I create my flower pictures by gluing flowers, rather than trying to draw or paint them!

The other two pictures are nature prints, the larger is hosta leaves, and the other picture is a print of geranium leaves on a piece of my handmade paper.  As expected, I found that I definitely need to make my handmade paper stronger in order for it to withstand the batik process, because I lost some of the surface layer while trying to remove the wax.  But, in the places where there was no damage, the effect is wonderful.

I'm really looking forward to experimenting more with batik on my paper this winter.