The Year of eCards in UK?

Is this the year of eCards in UK?

According to The Time, “Royal Mail’s chief executive has painted a bleak picture of the industry’s future — and warned that the current strife could result in people deciding that this was the year they would stop sending Christmas cards.”

I don’t think people in UK will stop sending paper Christmas cards. The strike will definitely have some effect, but there are still many weeks away from Christmas. There are enough people who believe that paper cards are a special part of their holiday. For many people, paper Christmas cards are often set out on the mantel or some other conspicuous place. Try to do that with eCards.

Maybe we should add the functionality for the recipients to print out their ecards so they can put the “cards” on the mantel-:)

Wish you a frightfully wonderful Halloween

Our newest card for Halloween is titled “Ghostly Friends”. It is great for sending spooky wishes to friends and family of all ages.

Ghostly Friends

A frightfully cute little ghost shares his treats with his friends in this card that is sure to delight old and young alike.

Here is our other Halloween card.

Halloween Frolics

With a dash of magic, a sprinkling of make believe and some ominous music this production will put you right in the mood for some frolics of your own on Halloween. Made to look vintage – but see for yourself!

Tip: When you create a card, you can check off the option boxes to be notified when the card is sent or when the recipient views this card.

Happy Halloween!

P.S. Do you have a website or blog? Link to us! Visit our link to us page for links, banners or card of the month. Thank you for your support.

Baptism Christening eCard

We have added a new card titled “Ave Maria” to our growing selection of ecards. For some time now we have wanted to set a card to the goose-bump inducing vocal rendition of Schubert’s piece by the same title.

So we set out to design a card that would do the music justice; we settled on painting a reproduction of Lewis C. Tiffany’s glass stained windows, which took several weeks to complete in watercolor and ink.

Tiffany’s windows are renowned for their vibrant color, beautifully detailed art nouveau designs and innovative glass making techniques. The card includes a short section about the art work in the card (link found at the end of the card).

Although the card is mainly intended for announcing the birth of a new baby, congratulating new parents, baptisms and christenings, it is also suitable for other spiritual occasions. We plan to release an alternate version of the card for Christmas later in the year as well.

Ave Maria

Let us know how you like this card!

Yeah … the Painting is Finished

Last night I put the finishing touches on what is probably the most complicated, painstaking and detailed watercolor I have done for any of the cards to date. I am working on a card that is inspired by the amazing art nouveau stained glass windows by Louis C. Tiffany.


Transparent watercolors are perfect for capturing the vibrancy and luminosity of light filtering through a stained glass window.


The first stage, painting the frames of each individual glass pane in black ink took about a week of full time work. The ink is water soluble but waterproof once dry, so can be applied before the watercolors. Although this makes painting in watercolor a bit easier, it still took another week and a half of days, evenings and pretty much all my free time to complete the painting.


But now that it is complete I am rather thrilled with the result. I hope you will be to when you see the final card which will be set to Ave Maria, one of my favorite music pieces.

Free Watercolor Demo


In my previous post Striking a Balance I introduced some of my favorite watercolor books, including “Vibrant Flowers in Watercolor” by Soon Y. Warren as well as a free online demo from the book made available by the publisher. Here is another free online demo from the book that shows you how to use complimentary colors when painting objects from nature arranged against a background with a complimentary color.


Free Download: Soon Y. Warren on Using Complementary Colors

Simple Stunning Flowers

photo by yellowgoatdesign on flickr – creative commons license

If you have a little extra money to splurge, my favorite choice is peonies. A few blooms will making an amazing display. But if you are on a tighter budget you can still making some very tasteful arrangements using everyday flowers from the grocery store.

photo by tanakawho on flickr – creative commons license

A simple bouquet of yellow solidagos and blue statice can make a stunning, but inexpensive and very full display. And the best part is that they dry really beautifully – in fact the blue statice will not fade and looks stunning against the mellow dried solidagos.

The solidagos and blue statice are set in a inexpensive rustic vase I found at a local rummage store

The same concept can be applied to other inexpensive flowers. As long as you avoid the mixed bouquets which are often rather tacky and opt for one big splash of color by using only one or two types of flower, even those who claim they don’t know how to arrange flowers can make a fancy looking arrangement.

Use unconventional containers as vases, such as small colorful glass bottles for a simple arrangement in the bathroom or even canning jars for – GASP – baby’s breath 🙂 Baby’s breath will actually look charming as long as you don’t use it with a mixed bouquet or roses.

Sometimes flower arranging is about thinking outside of the box and stretching the budget to go a little further.

Contentment

I take a deep breath and dive, always amused at how different things look underwater. It is a Wednesday afternoon and we almost have the local pool to ourselves. We used to work conventional 9-5 jobs. It seem a lifetime ago, and it wasn’t always 9-5, especially for Tim.

The boys attended school like most other kids up until 5 months ago. So I can confidently say that we get to spend a lot more time together now than we used to. I think more than most families who balance work and family life outside the home. It is just another of the many benefits of home schooling and working from home.

Emil took this picture of Esben and me

But I guess as is so often the case with people, before we try it and see the benefits we tend to weigh all the cons. Before I had children the responsibility and hassle of raising kids seemed like a much bigger deal than they turned out to be once I actually became a mother. Likewise, the most common reaction when people find out that we home school is “WOW, I could NEVER do that!”

Emil making muffins with Tim

I used to think that way to. Well, I didn’t really realize that it would benefit me too, not just the kids. I mainly thought of all the work, wondered whether I would be qualified and consistent enough. In fairness, I will say, I am fortunate to share the work with Tim. And the joys. Homeschooling is not just sitting at home doing work sheets or giving lessons. There are activities with other families that home school, a few classes they attend in subjects we don’t feel we can teach and lots of sports. This means everyday they get to socialize with kids in addition to playing with the neighborhood kids. Much of my work with the boys right now involves reading together, discussion things we read, researching, experimenting, going on field trips, going swimming, baking, watching a movie about something we are studying and so on. And questions, lots of questions. Sometimes questions that totally stump me. Once in a while we do play hooky. We just take a day off. Which we can afford to do because we carried on learning throughout the summer.


Over the summer the boys have practiced their freestyle and can give us a run for our money. I take another deep breath and let myself sink under water. For a moment I feel myself melt into the blue as I am filled with contentment. A second later I am tackled by Esben, who has figured out that bouncing up and down underwater is a lot of fun. Emil is focused on doing his laps, determined to swim more than Tim once again.

Maybe in a later post I will reveal a few of the pitfalls of home schooling and working from home … although I confess one of them is still being on the computer at 2 am, when I should be snuggled up in bed.

Striking a Balance

Click on the photo for an online demo from the book Vibrant Flowers in Watercolor by Soon Y. Warren

Most people think of watercolor as a medium best suited and usually used for quick, fluid compositions. But like any other medium, it can be used to create amazing detail, elaborated planned and executed paintings or quite simply paintings that spring alive. Finding this balance can be hard.

When I first started painting with watercolors as a child I mainly painted the Scandinavian landscapes where powerful skies, rolling hills and life by the sea lends itself very well to less fussy, quick paintings. Frankly so did my personality. Only with maturity did I learn some measure of patience. And techniques for improving my watercolors. Combining the fluid, almost zen like confidence of eastern brush painting with carefully painted, layered details is now my preferred style. One such example was the watercolors I painted for the card titled “Mandarin Ducks”, although when I paint for the ecards I tend to paint backgrounds separate from the objects of the painting so that they can be animated.

Click on the mandarin duck to see the card “Mandarin Ducks“

There are a number of great watercolor books but I will just mention a few of the ones I have found most inspiring and helpful.


Light Up Your Watercolor Layer by Layer by Linda Moyer is more helpful for somewhat experienced watercolor artists who want to take their painting to the next level in my opinion, although it is apparently geared to even novice painters with coverage of some more basic things like color theory and studio setup. The techniques described will take some practice and lots of patience to master but are well worth it.

Watercolor Depth And Realism: 5 Simple Techniques For Adding Dimension To Your Paintings by Laurie Humble is another favorite of mine. I think the cover almost speaks for itself, but again best for intermediate watercolor artists.


Vibrant Flowers in Watercolor by Soon Y. Warren is another advanced book that merges some Eastern aesthetics with western watercolor techniques. The publisher has given access to a demo from the book, so you can get a taste. The layering of washes of primary colors shown in this demo illustrates one of the most important techniques I learned to take my paintings to a new level.

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Ode to Peonies


“Peony Profusion” by Jean Cole

The paintings of watercolor artist Jean Cole shows just how powerful watercolor paintings can be. Her stunning work titled “Peony Profusion” is one of my favorites. Click on the link under the photo to access her website and see more of her work.

Photo by ballookey on flickr

Peonies are grand, magnificent flowers. Little wonder then that they have inspired myths and folklore and are revered in the East as a symbol of good luck, romance and honor. And little wonder that artists continue to find fascination with this subject in paintings and photographs – even in ecards as my card “Peony” illustrates 🙂

Photo by ballookey on flickr

Photo by ballookey on flickr

Soap Beautiful

photo by Thomas Hawk on flickr

As an artist I am incredibly sensitive to color and my surroundings. I love fresh flowers and little touches in my daily life that give me joy to behold. And when the urge comes to spruce things up a little, it doesn’t mean having to splurge or repaint the whole house. Here is a simple idea for making the bathroom a little more attractive.


I recently stumbled on this fantastic little wooden pedestal stand, a vintage piece from Japan that was bought rather inexpensively locally (less than $10).

I use it to hold extra soaps in the bathroom. I have a favorite olive oil soap I like to use, but the packaging is anything but beautiful. So instead a cut strips of decorative paper and wrap them around each soap, securing with a small piece of tape. The result looks luxurious and pampering. You could use a big glass jar as well to hold soaps, natural sponges and wash cloths – or ceramic plates or bowls – just make sure they are placed somewhere they will not be knocked down. I keep my towels and this soap stand on a an antique wooden teak towel stand outside the bathroom, which also eliminates any issues with moisture.