New owl prints and a Giveaway!

I decided to have another play with my owl lino print (the one in my header) and had fun printing onto different grounds such as watercolour, handmade papers, and brown paper bags. I then took a few a bit further with collage.

'Viewpoints' linoprint with collage © Caroline Soer

Here's one I made by printing onto a flimsy paper with a holey pattern. It's difficult to see here, but you can probably spot it in the centre of the 2nd photo above. This allowed the background map to show through a little - clicking the photo to enlarge will help! I added more torn papers for trees and finally some printed words.

Soon there was quite a flock - this is my owl portfolio!

And then the family grew a little larger when I decided to scan the smaller lino prints into my computer and print them out on watercolour paper.

'Ice owl' print © Caroline Soer

'Storm Owl' print © Caroline Soer

'Woodland Owl' print © Caroline Soer

I think they look quite smart in a simple black frame ( the prints measure 20 x 25 cms or 8" x 10" so easily fit into a standard frame). The first 5 will be flying into my Etsy shop this week but before that I'm going to GIVE AWAY one here on my blog!!

So, if you'd like a chance of winning one of these prints please leave me a comment to say which one of the 3 prints,' Ice Owl', 'Woodland Owl' or 'Storm Owl' you prefer. Everyone is welcome to join in - regular commenters, occasional followers and new visitors alike! I'll draw the winning name on Sunday and then I'll print your favourite owl on Fabriano watercolour paper. Your owl print will be signed and then packaged carefully, ready to make its journey to you where you can pop it into a frame!

Good luck!

Illustration Friday

watercolour ©carolinesoer2010

This week the Illustration Friday word is Prehistoric. Here is a trio of friendly dinos I painted in watercolour. You can find similar little characters in my Etsy shop where they are featured in my children's name pictures. I'm just starting to restock the shelves of the shop after a long absence!

Etsy Treasury East

If you're familiar with Etsy you will have come across the Treasury,an ever-changing member-curated shopping gallery. Here you get to choose your favourite items on Etsy and colour coordinate a page of these goodies for display - Etsy's front page is often chosen from these lists. For those of you who've tried making these fun galleries you'll also know the frustrations of nabbing a spot to publish your finds - they're hard to come by - I understand that some people even set their alarm clocks just to be sure of being there at the right time! Well, you can now get all the beauty sleep you need, as all that rising with the lark or burning the midnight oil to get a slot, should be a thing of the past with the new all improved Treasury EAST! I checked it out and made a page with a birdie theme featuring some of my favourite items. Click the screenshot (or here), to get a better look at the goodies and investigate the shops.

Pretty things

I can't resist buying a roll or three of pretty paper every now and again! And as for ribbons - I have yards and yards in every colour imaginable! l collected these and zillions of beads when I lived in Hong Kong. The area of Sham Shui Po was a veritable crafters' paradise - semi precious stones, pearls, beads of silver, wood, shell, ceramic and glass, swarovski crystals, ribbons, lace, leather, feathers, flowers, buttons and buckles - you name your trimming, you'd find it there! The choice was vast and the prices really cheap - I could spend hours there - genuine shop till you drop territory!

All the colours of the rainbow in tissue and narrow satin ribbons!

Classic black and silver printed tissue paper teamed with tassles.

I look out for unusual, hand made papers like these Japanese silkscreened Chiyogami papers. I use these and others for covering little albums, making cards and gift tags, and using in collages as well as for gift wrapping.









I have a little Etsy shop which has been temporarily closed this summer but I will very soon be stocking it again with lots of new items. You'll find albums and cards, as well as small prints of my watercolour paintings, including a range for children. Please do visit in a couple of weeks or so! I'll post a note here when the shop is fully operational again!

Photo Sande Chase

Who doesn't love a prettily wrapped gift? Both giving and receiving one is a joy! I'm always on the look out for ideas for creating gorgeous gift wraps and last week I was delighted when I stumbled across a lovely blog called A Gift Wrapped Life. Canadian Sande Chase fills her stylish blog brimful with stunning packaging creations and as well as fashion and interiors inspirations.

Photo Sande Chase

Need to send a gift to someone? Sande also has an online shop Oooh La La Cadeau specialising in beautifully wrapped gifts - I'm not sure if she ships internationally, but at the moment she has free shipping in the US and Canada.

Photo Sande Chase

To celebrate the launch of a new website and her 100 blog posts milestone, Sande is having a giveaway - do visit her blog - you're in for a treat! Leave a comment and you will be entered into the draw to win one of three gift wrap ensembles!

Photo Lala Ema

And finally, with our daughter Louisa's wedding on the distant horizon (November 2010) I've just started looking at all things bridal! Isn't this little beribboned box pretty? You'll find this and other delights at Un Mariage au Soleil. This brand new blog has just been launched by the very talented designer Lala Ema, to accompany her new wedding planning enterprise in the South of Spain! Her latest post features delightful packaging for wedding favours and in future she will show you amazing venues and many creative ideas for decor, stationery and gifts . Do pop over and pay Lala a visit!

My ETSY Shop

I've finally re-opened my ETSY shop and will be stocking the shelves over the next week or so. Please drop by! The store is sporting a new banner for the New Year and to celebrate re-opening I'm offering Free International Shipping on all items!! I have spent the last few months whilst the shop was closed dreaming up new projects and hope to start working on these soon. In the meantime here are a couple of pics of a lovely necklace and album I've just listed.

Tibetan Silver and Carnelian Choker

Seashells Accordion folded Album