Tuesday, March 29

Mop Hat Cat

Free Printable #136
Believe it or not, this little kitty actually started out as a teddy bear! After I'd drawn most of her I thought that she was decidedly more cat-like and would only need some stripes and a tail to complete the picture. Now, I fully realise that cats are highly unlikely to eat apples, but I'm also quite sure that if told they don't, then they would more than likely start. Isn't that the nature of a cat?

Monday, March 28

Waiting...

Free Printable #135

Copyright Beccy Muir 2011

Sunday, March 27

Over The Garden Gate

Free Printable #134
This is a design I drew while we were holidaying in the U.S. at the end of last year. I was inspired by the gorgeous, yet brooding city of Savannah, Georgia... one of my favourite places in the world. I love to stay in the Historic District where the buildings are haunted and some of the streets are cobbled with ballast that's hundreds of years old! We lunched with pirates and ate dinner amongst ghosts, walked through streets where the civil war had been a reality and visited cemeteries where relatives actually picnic with their long lost ancestors!

Copyright Beccy Muir 2011

Thursday, March 24

Quilted Heart

Free Printable #133

Copyright Beccy Muir 2011

It's Not Cupcakes...

I really love the quote, "Constant use will not wear ragged the fabric of friendship" by Dorothy Parker, so I decided to design a simple image that I thought would illustrate the spirit of her sentiment.

Tuesday, March 22

Three Cupcakes


Originally Designed: March 2011
Remastered: January 2022
Original artwork by Beccy Muir, all rights reserved. Images are for personal use and must not be copied, swapped, shared, resold or mass produced without the express written permission of the artist.

Three In A Row

This is another challenge card from my lovely group of cardmaking friends over at Card Camp. And yes, I fully realise that I'm in the midst of a mid-life cupcake crisis, but I think I explained my situation quite fully yesterday. However, if anyone is thinking of organising an intervention to save me from this terrible addiction, please bring chocolate.

P.S. When I said "mid-life" I actually meant somewhere closer to one third... on a good day I may even pass as a quarter.

Monday, March 21

Frothy Cupcake

Free Printable #131
Yes, it's another cupcake... but I do have a very good reason. You see, during the months of March and April my family celebrates at least one birthday every week, sometimes two, and in one case we even have two on the same day! Then we have a couple more in May just to gradually bring us all down off the birthday cake high. Needless to say, that's a lot of birthday cards requiring a lot of different birthday images and, well, who among us can resist cake? Not I dear friends, not I...

Copyright Beccy Muir 2011

Make A Wish Card

I made this card based on a weekly challenge over at Card Camp, a lovely group of cardmaking ladies who are always on the look out for new members. (Hint, hint) Anyway, the idea was to put together a clean and simple card with only one layer, which turned out to be a lot more difficult than it sounded. There's no prize for the winner since there isn't actually a winner, which really is quite refreshing, instead we strive to keep those creative juices flowing and expand our card making horizons.

Tuesday, March 15

Three Bunnies


Originally Designed: February 2011
Remastered: March 2021
Original artwork by Beccy Muir, all rights reserved. Images are for personal use and must not be copied, swapped, shared, resold or mass produced without the express written permission of the artist.

Bunny Card

With Easter only six weeks away, I figured it was about time to start working on some holiday cards and projects. I have a few cute images to share with you over the next few weeks as well as a tutorial on weaving little baskets that would be perfect for holding an egg or two for that special someone.
Today I want to share this bunny card with you. I was attempting to draw some fabric bunnies that I once sewed - many years ago now - but as my hubby pointed out, these little guys actually look like they are made from chocolate eggs! Perfect for Easter cards, but I also think they could be coloured differently and used for other occasions.

Monday, March 14

Blossom Branch

Free Printable #129

Copyright Beccy Muir 2011

Blossom Card

At the risk of being repetitive, I have again made a card using this blossom branch image. I think it would make a lovely Easter card with all the soft pastel colours associated with this time of year.

Sunday, March 13

Pine Grove

Free Printable #128
The pine tree grove I used for my March Christmas cards. They would probably work on other occasion cards too, or perhaps you could use them as a background with a different focal image.

Copyright Beccy Muir 2011

March Christmas Cards

These are my Christmas cards for March. I printed out the grove of trees in sepia tones and then used distress ink to colour the background in what I intended to be a sunrise. Some stickles added to the branches gave an icy look to the picture, then I simply stamped some Christmassy sentiments and popped them alongside the image.





Friday, March 11

Watercolour Daisy Cards

These little daisies are perfect for just about any occasion, including Birthdays, Thank You cards, Get Well cards or even little handmade gift tags.

"The Moments" stamp by Ali Edwards
"Thinking Of You" stamp by Stampin' Up

Technique Class - Watercolouring

Watercolour Daisies
It's time to dig out your watercolours - ink pads, felt tip pens, kid's paint... whatever you've got! We are going to paint ourselves some daisies.
Requirements:
Watercolours in blue and yellow - ink pads, felt pens, paint (anything that is water based. I used "Tumbled Glass" and "Mustard Seed" distress inks.)
Water brush (or round brush with a container of water)
Water colour paper
Water based black fine point pen
1. Prepare your watercolour paper by liberally brushing it with clean water, or by dunking it into a shallow dish of water. Allow to dry.
2. Start by painting a small circle with the thinned yellow ink.

3. Strengthen the colour in the centre and at the bottom of the circle to give the impression of a shadow.

4. Load your brush with some blue ink and paint in your first petal. Start by pressing down firmly on the brush to open the bristles and create a round tip to your petal. Bring the brush up to it's point as you near the yellow centre to create a thin point. Do not allow the brush to touch the yellow centre or your yellow ink will bleed into the blue ink.

5. Add evenly spaced petals around your flower centre. Turning your paper as you work will make it easier to paint - you should always pull the brush towards yourself. Allow the ink to dry thoroughly - you can speed up the process with a heat gun if you wish.

6. Add a second layer of petals between the first. You can continue adding layers with longer or shorter petals until you are satisfied with the result. Ensure the ink is dry between layers to prevent the colours from travelling.

7. Add some little dots of "pollen" to the flower centre with your fine tip black pen. Don't forget a few in the middle.

8. Use your pen to outline each front petal. Keep the line nice and fine and add a break here and there - but not on every petal.

9. Now do the same with the back petals and you have a completed daisy!

You can get different looks by altering the size and shape of your paint brush. Try using a short, thick brush for very broad petals or an angle shader for very choppy looking blooms. All that's left to do now is create a card or paper project for your watercolour flower. Have fun!
Copyright Beccy Muir 2011

Thursday, March 10

Make a Wish Card

This is my second Case This card since joining Card Camp. I just loved the beautiful example card that used a soft sage and a wonderful peachey pink... perfect colours for gorgeous blossoms. Even though it's now officially autumn here in Australia - but feeling a lot like summer still - this card actually makes me think "spring". Needless to say, there's a pretty serious case of seasonal confusion going on at my place right now!

Wednesday, March 9

Cupcake With Candles


Originally Designed: September 2011
Remastered: July 2018
Original artwork by Beccy Muir, all rights reserved. Images are for personal use and must not be copied, swapped, shared, resold or mass produced without the express written permission of the artist.

Tuesday, March 8

Eat Cake!

I have had the pleasure of joining a lovely on-line card group with lots of very talented ladies who take part in a weekly challenge to take inspiration from specific cards. This week I used the colour scheme, a cup cake image and some knotted ribbon from the example card to create this birthday card.

Pine Trees

Free Printable #126
I almost forgot to post these two pine tree images - I used the bottom one on the February Christmas Cards that I posted last month. As you can see, I have also included a sepia toned version of both drawings for a more antique or old world look.


Copyright Beccy Muir 2011

Monday, March 7

Little Spray of Flowers



Originally Designed: March 2011
Remastered: May 2022
Original artwork by Beccy Muir, all rights reserved. Images are for personal use and must not be copied, swapped, shared, resold or mass produced without the express written permission of the artist.

Monochromatic Cards

I had the best time colouring these little blossoms with Ranger Distress Inks and a water brush. I couldn't believe how quick and easy it was to finish each one... of course, using just one colour helped a lot. As you can see from the stash of cards I ended up with, doing just one is not enough to satisfy that crafty itch!