Monday, June 25, 2012

Renata Clarke Designs - Renamed and Back in Action!

Guess what? I'm back, and with new hobbies to share and stories to tell!

So, the last time I posted on here it had a different web address and name, and it was well over a year ago! In the last year I gave birth to a handsome and cheeky little monkey who turned one a month ago, and he certainly keeps me busy and entertained!

^the Cheeky Monkey

Since I last posted I have also returned to my university studies, which is why I'll most likely post a lot in the next few weeks (I'm on break) and then become considerably less consistent in my posting for a few months until I'm on holidays once again. I have also completed my first illustrating job for the children's book of a friend of mine (which I will post about)!

Currently, I am working on my second illustrating job (for the same friend), and I've started designing logos for other blogs/facebook pages/businesses, currently working on two of those jobs, which I will also post about. I've also had some failures in these ventures, and I'll even share those with you.

So, if you've been here before take a look around and note all the changes, and if you are new here, welcome! This is going to be fun.

It's good to be back.

xnata

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Ain't Love Grand...

Hello blog world!

I know I know, it's been forever since I posted. Only 26 weeks pregnant (as of tomorrow) and already the kid is running the show. I've been christmassing, then busy with child preparation and an illustrating project I might blog about one day, then sick, but now I've managed to squeeze a bit of quilling into my crazy life and just enough time left over to blog about it! Hopefully these pockets of crafty time will continue to pop up.

Well, as Monday is Valentine's day and tomorrow is my own special celebration of love, this batch of cards is all about love hearts. Tomorrow will be 9 years since the day that my lovely husband first asked me to go out with him *pause for gushing and awwwws*. It was via text message, in the middle of a black out, and the rest is history. The thought that next year we'll have been together for a decade and I'll have a baby in my arms is mind blowing.

And so, as my mind and the minds of many turn to love in the next couple of days, I've managed to quill some simple, yet very pink cards which I will somehow magically get to the shop by tomorrow.

♥♥♥



I'm a bit rusty after such a big break from quilling so I thought I'd keep my designs simple and just emphasis the theme of love.



I've used up a great deal of my pink supplies with this theme, but now that I've found myself a new quilling paper supplier that shouldn't be a problem. It just means that I get to go shop for more!


The colour of this heart gives me a headache, but I'm sure someone out there loves hot pink and would be overjoyed to recieve this crazy bright heart from the one they love.



I don't know why but this one is my favourite. Simple but sweet.

♥♥♥

I wish you all a very romantic week, and I'll be back soon with more goodies when time smiles on me again.



♥♥♥

xnata

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Vintage Finds and Christmas Drama

As it is December, on Tuesday I started to put up Christmas decorations, starting with changing my tablecloth to a Christmassy red one and stringing up tinsel around the house. My husband, being the romantic and sweet man that he is had brought me home a bunch of ten red roses the night before. Then, this weekend I'll be singing a song with my mum, and had laid the sheet music out on the table to practice...



...leads to a very dramatic looking table doesn't it? Pretty, but an oh so dramatic Christmas scene. And what would Christmas be without drama, it always seems to show up at some point.

Anyway, on to the main point of this post. A couple of weeks ago my aunty/shop lady challenged me to go on a hunt for vintage items to start contributing items other than my quilled creations to our little shop. I did so last week, and would you believe the items sold?? Being the goose that I am I neglected to actually take photos of the items before they went to the shop :s

So, given that it seems I have an eye for this vintage finding thing, yesterday I went off and did it again.



The vase full of flowers is not for sale obviously, I just thought my dramatic table was a good backdrop for the photos.



These candlesticks were actually bought in the first vintage hunt that I did, but they were in need of a good cleaning so they didn't make it to the shop last week. I also added some lovely long pink candles and tied two tiny white roses around each of the candlesticks to make them more delicate and girly.




This tiny teacup is so sweet, I'm guessing it once belonged to a children's teaset, and perhaps a teddy bear drank imaginary tea from it. It was in bad shaped but I gave it the cleaning of a lifetime and it came up just lovely.



I love etched glass, and this bowl with its little flowers was too pretty to pass up.



No one can have too many tiny vases in my opinion, and I can see this sitting on someone's windowsill with a few wild flowers sitting in it. I added the little rose to the bottom for decoration.



This little nun thinks its all such a scandal! I realise that being a religious figurine it may take just the right buyer to find her a home, but the look on her face made me giggle and I just couldn't resist her.



This little china vase is charming, and almost matches the next item...


A little china trinket box! The detail engraved on the edging is beautiful. I can see this and the vase on someone's nightstand, holding little flowers and the owner's earrings or something.



Now, while I love all of these items and look forward to seeing how they go in the shop, I must not forget my quilled items in this post. I've been meaning to post about my quilled snowflakes for over a week, and while there's little to say there is plenty to see.



They've been very popular and today I'll be busy making more. I put glitter along the edges on both sides of them, so that they sparkle in your tree. They're lots of fun to make and I think I may keep one for my tree too, they're just so pretty.



I realise that living in Australia its quite ironic to be selling snowflakes at Christmas, given I've never seen snow I am very aware. I just love the design and the look of them, they are beautiful and are good for those Christmases where you wish it wasn't 37c degrees and would much rather be rugged up by a fireplace for the day.

I think that they deserve their place on anyone's tree just for how pretty they are, and somewhere in the world it is snowing on Christmas, we can't just represent our country when we celebrate Christmas, it is a world event, so snowflakes belong on trees anywhere I say.

That's for all the stick-in-the-muds who scoff at wintery items at Christmas time. Hmmmppphhh.

I guess I did have something to say about them afterall.

Okay, I'm off to quill, have a lovely lead up to Christmas my loyal readers.

xnata