Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit

Hello all, and welcome (back) to Words and Pictures, and an especially big welcome to the new followers - thank you so much for joining the journey.  And I'd also like to say a really big thank you to you all for taking the time to visit my butterfly mobile at The Artistic Stamper - and for saying such nice things about it!!

I'm sharing a Design Team piece today, a triptych inspired by the wonderful images from Nicecrane Designs, and since it's also inspired by a story I grew up on, happily it should fit right in with Simon Says Stamp and Show's new challenge, Ever After.  The timing of that challenge coming out particularly pleases me, since when I made the frames weeks ago I said at the time that they felt like Fairy Tale frames to me... I just didn't know what went inside them at that point!

This triptych uses images from the Always Peter Rabbit set which you can find here.  I've only used three of them, but the set includes eight beautiful reproductions from The Tale of Peter Rabbit.  Or you can go for the Peter Rabbit Save Pack, which gets you lots more pictures for your money.

Sadly, you won't be able to purchase the Beatrix Potter images if you are in the UK because of copyright issues, but everyone else in the world is allowed to.

But there are thousands of other gorgeous images available at Nicecrane, so you'll be sure to find something lovely to play with.









I'm a huge Beatrix Potter fan.  I grew up on the Tales, particularly loving the illustrations.  And if you've never seen the enchanting film of the Royal Ballet version of the tales, with extraordinary masks and costumes to die for, then I can only suggest that you hunt it down immediately!  I've found you a little taster to tempt you.








I only found out much later that she was also a respected naturalist, gaining recognition from the scientific establishment for her work on fungi - not only for her mycological illustrations but also her research into how fungi reproduce (no mean feat for a 'mere' woman in the 19th century).

Some of you may remember these Cabinet die frames from my workdesk a few WOYWWs ago...  They've been hanging around ever since, waiting for the right project to form around them.







The colours in these illustrations seemed to be the perfect fit - though looking at them next to the Nicecrane preview, it seems my printer may have been having a slightly green day!

The frames first had a layer of Ferro texture paint, roughly applied, and then coats of paint and ink and Treasure Gold.  I used one of the small stamps from Tim Holtz's Nature's Elements set to add some ivy/mossy texture over all my other layers.  I'm quite pleased with the stony look of them.








I cut another three large Cabinet cards out of chipboard and gave them a coat of acrylic paint, sand and white mixed together straight onto the chipboard.

I used one of the lovely grasses from the same stamp set to add some detail to these panels, stamping in Coffee and Sepia Archival.

On the reverse, I stamped some woodgrain using one of the brilliant Kaisercraft stamps, tapping the same two Archival inks onto the stamp so that the colour varies across the panels, and blended on some Gathered Twigs DI for a more rustic look.

I cut two hinges from the Hardware Findings die out of Grungeboard, and inked them up with a mixture of Gathered Twigs and Vintage Photo inks and stains.





The beauty of Grungeboard is that it is flexible and mouldable, making it perfect for doing duty where there's going to be movement involved.

I used Pesto alcohol ink to colour a few of the Idea-ology fasteners and attached the hinges.

I even remembered to make sure that the attachers would be coming through behind the illustrations, so that they wouldn't be showing on the other side!  And, of course, that had to be done before sticking down the images.








And then I began to assemble my triptych.

There are twiggy hearts and mulberry paper flowers, and some more of my favourite wooden flourishes from Crafty Emblies.

It took some juggling to arrange them all to my satisfaction, but eventually I got out the Glossy Accents and glued everything in place.









The illustrations are mounted on padded tape, both to give them extra prominence and to keep them clear of the ends of the attachers which are coming through from behind.






I deliberately selected images where the rabbits aren't dressed in clothing, because I wanted to stick to the natural colour palette, but I know I'll be coming back to this set for another go - it's so lovely to work with.

And Nicecrane Designs also has several fabulous Beatrix Potter clipart sets, where you get a whole variety of characters from the Tales to play with - you may well see some of those soon too!

Since they're digital sets, you get them immediately, so you could use them to join in a few of the challenges I'm entering with this project - lots of furry themes have fortuitously all bobbed up this week!







For now, thank you so much for your company - so much appreciated - and I hope to see you again soon, either here or elsewhere in Craftyblogland.

I'm entering this in the following:
Simon Says Stamp and Show are looking for inspiration from stories and tales in Ever After
PanPastel UK are looking for Animals
Stamping Sensations are playing with Fur and Feathers for the whole of February
Hels Sheridan is offering Animal as the prompt for the Sunday Stampers over at Ink On My Fingers
And I don't know whether it's the done thing for a Guest Designer to enter the monthly challenge at the same time, but at the risk of being disqualified, I'd like to enter it for the Hearts and Flowers challenge at The Artistic Stamper too!


I cannot rest, I must draw, however poor the result, and when I have a bad time come over me it is a stronger desire than ever.

There is something delicious about writing the first words of a story. You never quite know where they'll take you.

For quiet, solitary and observant children create their own world and live in it, nourishing their imaginations on the material at hand.

Beatrix Potter