Work in Progress - April, a Very Mixed Bag!

Until this week, our weather in April has been more like early summer than springtime!

Just as well, as I've had to be out and about a lot more than usual, mostly walking into town to meet friends or going to various medical appointments. All this walking is much better for my back than sitting at a computer. But on the other hand, it's time I'd otherwise be using for designing and 'creating' products and greeting cards for sale in Print-on-demand stores!

All that taken into consideration, I haven't done too badly!

I've made three of my new 'Friendship' quotation illustrations into Flexible Fridge Magnets.

You can see them, and a couple of older ones

HERE.

And I've finally finished creating products with my collage fishes, ending with a set of Persian New Year (Norooz) greeting cards. This custom-front card is just one of the fifteen cards addressed to various family relations and friends -

Zazzle have introduced so many new products since I first started stocking my Posh and Painterly store in August, 2013, that one of my weekly tasks is to go back over my collections, adding new products wherever there are gaps. 

This month, I finished some of the 'Daisy Chains' patterns. And then moved on to my 'Islamic Collection'. 

Here, for instance, is a Cube Pouf -

Bright Traditional Islamic Pattern Cube Pouf by poshandpainterly
Check out these Cube Poufs at Zazzle

Red Bubble have also added scarves to the products we can put our patterns/designs on so that has kept me busy as well -

If the quality is anything like as good as the
Tote Bags, they'll be excellent value and just right
for gifts for friends that I have to send by post!

It's been quite a challenge to fit in working on a new pattern with so many other things going on. 

So I cheated slightly and chose a pattern that I'd begun a while back. It still needed a lot of work, though, and I'm quite pleased with how many products I've been able to create with it, in spite of a lack of time!

Here it is - my "Granny Print" collection,

another hand-painted paper collage,

digitally manipulated to make a repeating pattern.

Retro Floral Prints on Teal Custom Throw Pillow by poshandpainterly
.

I've barely started creating coordinating patterns for my 'Granny Print' so I expect that to take me right through most of May.

One of the new products that Zazzle have introduced this year really caught my imagination - Ceramic Drawer Knobs and Pulls!

They seem the ideal product to feature my somewhat 'Shabby Chic' patterns. So, whenever I've had a few moments to spare, I've begun to 'create' some of them - lots more to come! 

(If only Zazzle would slow down with the introduction of new products, just for a while, it might give us time to catch up!)

Pretty Spring Primroses Ceramic Knob by poshandpainterly

And finally -

My Fairy House is finished and varnished!

 

Can you see the lacy pink Fairy Wings hanging on the washing line at the back?

So I've turned my attention to my paper bead-making. 

I'm not finding the roller I bought is all that helpful in getting the paper to roll nice and straight. I seem to have more control over it when I use a cocktail stick - hopefully I'll be able to post some finished necklaces next time!

I wish, as always, that I'd had more time to be creative.

But I think the various appointments have been worthwhile. It seems that, having been prescribed asthma inhalers for nearly three years, I almost certainly don't actually have asthma! (The symptoms may be caused by the acid reflux/possible hiatus hernia that took me to hospital just before Christmas.)

And the physiotherapist I've just started seeing seems to know what she's about, even if that does involve leaning heavily on my back, causing a lot of 'treatment soreness' for the rest of the week! I've had an increasingly nagging, burning pain down my 'wrong' leg for more than four years and it didn't feel like sciatica. But apparently it is nerve pain coming from my back - though not the sciatic nerve. Now that we know that, I can be treated and do exercises in the hope that it will gradually improve. I've already begun to feel that my back is less stiff than it was a week ago.

Who knows, I might even be able to go out with the local walking group again one day! 

With a bit of detective work and a lot of determination on my part the pieces of the puzzle are finally starting to fit together. (I'd rather be designing, though!)

Strawberry, Melon and Kiwi Fruit - a Color Palette for all seasons!

So far, April has been mostly dry and sunny - and remarkably warm for spring. 

Almost summer-like, in fact, and I've seen plenty of people in t-shirts and shorts in town, though I wouldn't go quite that far myself!

But I do have buds on some of my roses:

And it won't be long before this dark corner of my garden is brightened up by the wonderful bright blue Ceanothus; the fluffy buds are all ready to open!

More of this summer-like weather is forecast for the rest of the month so, with that in mind, here's a luscious 'Summer Fruits' colour palette that caught my eye while I was shopping -

It's a mouth-watering colour scheme 

with so many applications! 

It would give a small, dark room a warm and cosy feel, all year round. But it could equally be used with a lot of white - and maybe some black? - to bring a summery feeling to a larger, lighter room.

What would you use it for?

Another Favourite Friendship Quote - Stars

If you've moved house as many times as I have, you'll probably have a number of old friends living too far away to meet up with them face to face very often.

But if they were truly good friends, as opposed to 'acquaintances', the bond will more than likely remain intact, even though you may not even get the chance to speak with them as often as you'd like. These are the friends you make time to ring for an annual chat on their birthday and within seconds, it feels as if you spent time with them only yesterday.

These friends are your 'stars' - and maybe, hopefully, you are their 'stars' too!

This is a high resolution, A4-sized image that you are welcome
to save and print or pin to Pinterest.

Looking Forward to Summer with this Seaside Colour Palette

Now that the evenings are staying light longer, it's beginning to feel as if winter really is on the way out. 

At times, the past few days have almost tempted me to get out my t-shirts and flip-flops - almost! So spring has definitely sprung - before we know it, it will be summer! And don't you think these bead necklaces have a 'summery' feel about them? 

I suppose it's partly because I can't imagine wearing a sea-shell necklace with a thick, warm sweater, but it's also because the colours remind me so strongly of days at the beach.

There are the brilliant blues of the sea and the coral pinks of crabs and shrimps, contrasting so well with the light beiges and greys of the sea-shells and pebbles! They all add up to a day out at the seaside - can't you even hear the waves and smell the sea?

I think it's amazing that we can find wonderful colour palettes so close to home - provided we keep a look out for them. So there's never any need to lack inspiration.

Could you make a pattern using this colour scheme? If you do, I'd love to see it - perhaps you could post a link to it in the comments?