Everything Happens For A Reason

Calming blues & white... but the paint splashes are full of movement

to encourage that shift in attitude.

A canvas full of positive quotations to comfort & encourage.

'Everything happens for a reason'

'Challenges can be stepping stones or stumbling blocks. It just depends how you view them'

'Life can only be lived forwards from beginning to end'

'Follow your heart, your dreams, your desires, 

do what your soul calls you to do, then let it be finished'

Size: 60cm x 30cm

Price: £49 including uk postage, please inquire for overseas 

Shoot for the moon...

This lilac canvas is full of positive quotations...

 it will help uplift the mood in any room!

The quotations are:

Shoot for the moon, even if you miss you will land amongst the stars.

Follow your heart, your dreams, your desires- do what your soul tells you to do.

Life is a daring adventure ... or nothing at all.

Every journey begins with a single step, 

you would not expect to cross an ocean in a single leap.

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.

Follow your heart.

Do what your soul tells you to do, then let it be finished (Ramatha)

Tie your dream to a star & never let go of it.

Size: 60cm x 60cm

Price: £55 including uk postage, please inquire for overseas

Blessing of the Apaches

This Apache Blessing is ever-popular as a wedding reading.

As an A5 card/booklet it is a lovely gift, tied with a ribbon &

decorated with co-ordinating tissue or handmade paper.

It can be made in any colour.

This can be personalised with calligraphy, adding names, date etc.

Price: £7.50 Sold

"Love" Canvas

This canvas has various love quotations written in silver on a pink & white background. the silver lettering is difficult to photograph, but catches the light as you move, giving a lovely effect

The dominant quotation is....

  Love weaves a web with threads drawn from your own heart....

and there is a painted woven effect in the background

The other quotations are;

To love & be loved is to feel the sun on both sides.

Love alone can tell whence a million stars are strewn.

There is no fear in love for perfect love casteth out fear.

Love is above all the gift of oneself.

Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it.

The madness of love is the greatest of all heaven's blessings.

Give all to love, obey thy heart.

He who loves does not dispute,

He who disputes does not love.

So what is love? The heart alone can tell...

Like morning bright, love comes without thy call...

A spirit bright, love never dies at all...

Size: 35cm x 90cm

Price: £90 including uk postage please inquire for overseas 

The Flight of an Angel

The flight of an angel is not a question of physical flight.

The attitude & vibration of a pure heart and mind do all the work.

Let your heart be clear and your mind be peaceful...

Then you will be able to fly- with your mind.

This is the joy of becoming an angel.

Cream & Gold Canvas

Size: 90cm x 35cm

Price: £75 including uk postage, please inquire for overseas
SOLD

Handmade Journals

Calligraphy Christening Gift

Angels surround you every day.... may they love & protect you in every way.

Babies are little bits of stardust sprinkled from heaven.

This 8x10inch canvas was a christening gift, with the baby's name & christening date written subtly at the bottom. It is an idea that can be repeated, but no two will ever be the same, making a truly unique present. Colours & words can be adapted to suit the recipient... a feature can be made of the name... it doesn't have to have the heart on... you get the idea... you can have whatever you like.

A canvas similar to this would be £20.

Handmade 'Accordion' style Wedding Invitation

Mantragrams

A mantragram is a short quotation, affirmation or message written in a vertical format, designed to hang anywhere. The finest Swarovski crystals hang from the bottom of the mantragrams... catching light and scattering rainbows. The back is decorated to complement the lettering... handmade indian paper, or japanese tissue... or perhaps painted...

Mantragrams are designed to be hung up... ideally in a window where the crystal decoration catches the light, but they look good anywhere!

Any mantragram may be personalised with a name & date, or a short, personal greeting, and of course they can be in any colour. They are a special gift for any occasion... new baby, a christening, birthday, anniversary, wedding etc... or just because you care... and you can choose any wording you like!

The size does vary... i tend to just go with the words & see how they turn out rather than be restricted by measurements. However, they are quite dainty... on average about 7cm wide & about 20-30cm long... (ish), but if size is important to you I will stick to your limits!

The price is £12-50, or for a double-sided one, with wording on the back too, £20
 click the link at the top of the page to see more... these ready made ones are £10

Babies Mantragrams

Any mantragram may be personalised with a name & date, or a short, personal greeting, and of course they can be in any colour. They are a special gift for a new baby, a christening, birthday... or just because you care... and you can choose any wording you like!

Babies are little bits of stardust sprinkled from heaven...

Babies are born with a need to be loved & never grow out of it....

Swarovski crystals are used for decoration... (they sparkle in the light & scatter rainbows all over!) I use various shapes & sizes, so the actual decoration may vary slightly from this picture.

Friendship Mantragram

The value of friendship cannot be measured, only treasured...

Angels Mantragrams

Angels watch over you every day, may they guide & inspire you in every way...

Angels surround you every day, may they love & protect you in every way...

Perfect gifts for anyone at any time... to celebrate a birthday or christening, to offer support & encouragement to a friend in need.... just to show you care with words that mean something....

Swarovski crystals hang from the bottom

Love Mantragrams

Mantragrams are designed to be hung up... ideally in a window where the crystal decoration catches the light, but they look good anywhere!

Love is two minds with a single thought, two hearts that beat as one...

Grow old along with me, the very best is yet to be...

The finest Swarovski crystals hang from the bottom of the mantragrams...

 catching the light and scattering rainbows.

This picture is one example, but they do vary.

'Love' Memory Album

This personalised  memory album was a gift from a groom to his bride.... various 'love quotations' are written throughout, with several envelopes inside for keep-sakes. It could be used as a photograph album or as a special scrapbook of their wedding day.

Commissioning something like this, for any occasion, makes a really special gift.... and you can choose colours & words that suit the individual. This one was 15 x 15 inches and prices start from £45, depending on number of pages, quotations, envelopes & whether interleaving is desired.

Apache Wedding Blessing

Two versions of 'The Bidding'- an Apache Blessing (click on the pictures to see the detail). This is a popular wedding reading, and what better way to preserve the memory than to have it written out & framed!

The paper used is hand-made... both for the calligraphy, the decoration at the bottom & to cover the mount. Combined with a wood frame, the overall effect is natural & harmonious... something I feel the words deserve (you can of course choose any colour scheme you like!). The added bonus is that it suits most interior styles, which is useful if someone is unsure where the recipients will be hanging their gift.

Handmade Wedding Invitation

"To have & to hold", the calligraphy on the front is layered over handmade paper & japanese tissue. A simple design, with subtle colours, but very effective. Something like this is £2-95 per invite, and can be co-ordinated with your colour scheme... you can choose your own wording or replace it with names & date or an image... you can add extras such as ribbon or extra inserts...and of course the theme can be continued through place cards, order of service, seating plan etc.

Calligraphy Rubber Stamp Designs

Card made with 'friends' rubber stamp

Card made with 'believe' rubber stamp

Card made with 'Journey' rubber stamp

The rubber stamps are available from Crafty Individuals, but you can buy cards from me... any colours you like, and if you wish, I can add a name or greeting in calligraphy inside!

Hope - Rubber Stamp

This design is available as a rubber stamp from craftyindividuals.co.uk or as a card from myself (my email address is in the side bar). Single hand-made cards are £2.95 each (or 4 for £10) including uk postage, delivery elsewhere is charged at cost.

Canvasses

 I'll edit with details very soon.... just testing something!

Workshops

Details will be posted shortly.

My Story

The long version for those who want to know... i'll do a short one for everyone else soon!

My calligraphic journey began nearly 20 years ago (gasps, noooo it can't be that long) I started a night class taught by Sue over at The Creative Spirit when my daughter was a baby. I was hooked from the start, and soon started attending workshops all over England with Sue... wherever we thought we could get the best tuition. Whereas many enjoy calligraphy purely as a hobby, I knew that I eventually wanted to take it further.

I studied with many 'names' on the calligraphy circuit, but the following made the biggest impression:
Summer schools with Michael Clark, Ann Hechle, Jilly Hazeldine, Ewan Clayton &  Katrina Pieper.
SSI Northern Advanced Training scheme with Richard Middleton & Sue Hufton.
And Peter Thornton for workshops & summer schools.... who I thank so much. He taught me more than he will ever know.

My biggest learning curve was when I started teaching calligraphy... having to analyse & explain how & what I was doing. Oh, those first classes must have been so bad.... but people kept coming back; a fair few of my earliest students were still coming until I stopped the classes 5 or 6 years later. I had a spell of teaching teenagers, and I still teach occasional workshops for calligraphy groups.

As far as qualifications go, I passed the City & Guilds Adult Education Teaching Certificate, gained the Intermediate Certificate in Calligraphy from CLAS (Calligraphy & Lettering Arts Society) and became a CLAS Accredited Tutor.

more to follow soon!!!