Saturday 3 November 2012

Alice In Wonderland

.........Or of course more correctly the title should be  "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland". I have a passion for childhood books and also their wonderful illustrations. The original illustrator of Alice was Sir John Tenniel but I have a copy illustrated my one of my favourite illustrators, Arthur Rackman. Recently I was trying to decide on some new ranges of bag charms to sell and I was looking for something which would be typically "English" and one idea that came to mind was indeed Alice in Wonderland.
This is one of my favourite illustrations from the  Rackham version depicting the characters all ready for the Mad Hatter's Tea Party. I also have a collection of miniatures from the now deceased company Hantel who produced wonderful Victorian miniatures from the Alice books.

These all live in a wooden cabinet hand made for me many years ago by my Mother In Law before she died. I really do treasure this cabinet as it was made to measure to hold my Hantel pieces. I have lots of them and this is a few of my Alice collection. They only  measure around  1"tall.












They all have the most marvellous detail. Francis Wilson who developed these pewter models based her designs on the original Tenniel illustrations.










This is some of the range which were available. Sadly Hantel ceased production many years ago but I have many of their lovely miniatures.


















This is the front of their catalogue from 1997. So armed with my Alice ideas I tracked down some charms that would suit my theme. I found some lovely artisan one of a kind lampwork glass beads from my stash and then it was time to disappear to my garden studio to play with ideas.
So..here are my first pieces......
















Rabbit Herald charm with clock face....."I'm late, I'm late...for a very important date"...;0)



















and with a very cute teacup and saucer....























another bead combination with the clock face,,

















and the other charms I can use are a sweet teapot and a slice of cake. These have been very popular and to pardon the pun "are going like hot cakes". If you have any specific colour or charm requests just email me. I can make you something one of a kind. These make great gifts and come in a little organza gift bag.

If you want to see what is available in my Etsy shop the link to my bag charms is here

If there are no Alice in Wonderland charms left just convo me via the link on the page.


So with the "Wonderland" theme of my post today my card challenge is a "Winter Wonderland" theme and a recent Christmas creation;







I used one of my beloved Lili of the Valley stamps, Milly Winter Window, as the focal. I also used one of my other fave stamps by Visible Image Stamps to give the shadow of Santa dashing across the sky. I embossed this with holographic embossing powder but the "sparkle" does not really show up in the photos.
I coloured the stamp with Promarkers and Prismacolor pencils and added glamour dust to give more sparkle. I added a lovely festive ribbon. I rather like using contemporary  colours for some of my cards...blues, blacks and silver go well together.
Visible image have just launched a brand new blog challenge so I am excited to join it!

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges;



Visible Image; First challenge Sparkle
Lili's Little Fairies ;Snow is falling
Really Reasonable Ribbon #59 Winter holiday
Totally Papercrafts #141 Twinkle Twinkle Christmas Star
Sparkle Christmas Challenge Contemporary Colours #22
Card Crafters Circle #47 Patterned paper
ABC Christmas V is for Vibrant Colours
I love Promarkers #141 Cute
Divas by Design Feeling Festive #59
My Mum's Craft Shop #82 Bold and Bright
Crafts and Me Bling it up #108
The Paper Shelter Anything Goes #88
Hooked on Craft No red or green #26

It's a gorgeous chilly but sunny morning here so I am heading out to do a quick bit of gardening including planting some garlic and then it's some studio time. This evening we will be glued, as always to Strictly Come Dancing......at the moment M and I are learning the Quick Step and boy is it harder than it looks. I just love how easy the pros make it look. Have a lovely weekend everyone, thanks as always for your lovely visits and comments, it's always great to see you here.

Back soon,

Bye for now,

Jane x

57 comments:

  1. Love the new charms Jane! :)
    So many lovely greens and blues in your post today and rabbits too!! Always good! ;)
    I'm looking forward to Strictly tonight, Louis Smith is my fav!
    The Quick Step is brilliant dance, I just love the way they skip across the floor, at speed!
    Have a lovely weekend,
    Vivienne x

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  2. Good morning Vivienne. I thought the rabbits would appeal ;0) The Quick step is my favourite Ball room dance....for Latin it is probably the Cha Cha Cha! Enjoy Strictly too and the weekend,
    Jane x

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  3. Fabby Bow and snowfalkes!! Adorable image...sooo sweet! Wonderful Holiday card!! Thank you for joining us at Really Reasonable Ribbon!!
    Hugs
    Heather

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  4. I too will be glued this evening Jane, every year I tell myself I won't become addicted to the Strictly and the X Factor, but of course I always do.

    Although I think I shall probably have to record this evening because two of the boys will be home resting for tomorrow's half marathon.

    Your mother-in-law was very talented making such beautiful figures, I'm sure you must cherish them.

    Hope you have a good weekend.

    B x

    Oooops, nearly forgot to say what a pretty Christmas card.

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  5. Hi Brenda I think each Strictly gets better and better. Enjoy it on catch up if you need to , good luck to your sons tomorrow. My dear Mum in Law made the cabinet...she was a very talented lady. The little pewter figures were made by a company called Hantel, sadly long closed. Happy weekend and thanks for visiting,
    Jane x

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  6. Gorgeous card Jane! Love the colours, beautiful embellishments and our 'Sleigh Silhouette' stamp looks fantastic! Thank you for entering our 'Sparkle' challenge over at Visible Image Helen x

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  7. Hi Helen, great to find you after all this time. Good luck with the new blog and challenge launch and I'm delighted to take part.
    Jane x

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  8. Hi Jane, I adore all your bag charms! I am so excited as I leave in just 25 minutes to go to my first Precious Metal Clay class! It occurred to me that I can make my own beads! I'll post later about it. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  9. Wonderful new creations, Jane, I love those new Alice-themed bag charms! And oh how sweet are those figurines you have, all those tiny details, just perfect!

    I wish you a lovely, dance-filled weekend!

    Yours,
    Mia

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  10. Enjoy the PMC class Teresa, it is such a fun medium to work with and opens a whole new silversmithing world.
    Jane x

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  11. Hi Mia,I have been making more this afternoon, they have been so popular. Nearly Strictly time...Keep dancing ;0)
    Jane x

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  12. Love this card...what a great combination of the LOTV and visible Image stamps, they are totally different in style but you have made it work beautifully.
    Julie Woodward(design team member)http://www.visibleimage.co.uk

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  13. Thanks for liking my card Julie. I love my silhouette Santa and use him lots.
    Jane x

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  14. Such a cute image you colouring is awesome and a fab card for our sparkle challenge over at Visible Image I'm also going to follow now :) xxx

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  15. Beautiful card thank you for joining us at I♥Promarkers Cute challenge this week and good luck Ginny X

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  16. Welcome to my journal Cheremane and thanks for your kind comments.
    Jane x

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  17. Love this card Jane. Great image, beautifully coloured and love your black blue and silver, it works so well.
    Thanks for joining us at The Paper Shelter 'Anything goes' challenge this week, and good luck
    Eileen x

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  18. Thanks Eileen, I did like this colour combo and will use it again,
    Jane x

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  19. Very lovely. Looks stunning. THanks for playing with us over at the Paper Shelter this week.
    Love n hugs
    Marie

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  20. Gorgeous card with that adorable image...lovely bow...thanks for joining the Divas!
    xxx Margreet

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  21. Thanks Margreet, she is one of my favourite Christmas stamps ever.
    Jane x

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  22. Beautiful card! Love the frosty feel of it! Thanks for sharing with us at Card Crafter's Circle!

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  23. Hi Jane, Sorry I didn't get a chance to comment sooner. I love your new theme for the lovely bag charms. AND your collections is so special and a treasure. Collections are always so wonderful to have and even more fun to watch grow! Love the top illustration of the Mad Hatter's Tea Party, I can see why it's a favorite.
    I hope you are well and have a great week, xoRobin❤

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  24. Hi Jane! I love your miniatures and the cabinet for them is very special! Your bag charms are my favourites and I think I shall collect them - every theme is so great! Have a lovely week! x Teje

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  25. Hi Robin my Hantel cabinet is on my landing wall and always brings a smile to my face when I walk past...such sweet things ;0) I am fine thank you, enjoy your week too,
    Jane x

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  26. Good morning dear Teje, it is very chilly here today. I hope your sunshine is continuing? Thanks for your kind words about my bag charms, I love coming up with new themes.
    Jane x

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  27. A brilliant creation!

    Thank you for sharing at Sparkles Christmas Challenges this time
    Good luck in the draw

    Shaz x

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  28. Oh how I would love to live in your house! I have a tattered and battered old copy of Alice, and many more ...including the Wombles! I just love the old fashioned fairy story, your bag charms are beautiful and inspired. I have started to make more collectible sculpture beads and this weekend have been treating myself to making fairies and mermaids and things, a real release from everyday life. I must email you Jane I had a lovely surprise when I came home from my week away last week - family troubles, I will email you later, just having a bit of lunch at the moment and catching up on your fabulous blog, they always make me smile and are my first blogs to read when I have been away xx

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  29. Lovely! And everybody has to love Alice in Wonderland. Pretty card too. I find all the black interesting for Christmas.

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  30. What a stunning Christmas card! I love the LOTV image. The silouhette of Santa and his reindeer is a perfect touch. I also love your Alice miniatures collection! Thank you for joining us this week at Totally Papercrafts.

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  31. Such a fabulous card, love the santa in the background...thanks for joining us at Divas!
    Helen x

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  32. Hi Dear Laney and welcome home. Hope thinks perk up for you really soon. It's always lovely to see you here ;0)
    Jane x

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  33. I think we all love Alice don't we Linda? Thanks for liking my card...I also thought the black worked really well ;0) Happy Monday,
    Jane x

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  34. Thanks for visiting and your kind comments Lisa,
    Jane x

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  35. Thanks Helen, he's a cool Santa stamp isn't he and seems very popular with everyone visiting.
    Jane x

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  36. So enjoyed all your Alice pics! Your bag charms are lovely and so is that card!

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  37. Thanks for playing along with us this week at MMCS challenge & good luck x
    ((hugs)) Suzie xoxo

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  38. Hi Lori so glad you enjoyed your visit here,
    Jane x

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  39. Gorgeous card and what a fantastic collection, thank you for joining us at I♥Promarkers this week
    Ruth x

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  40. I love my little Hantel collection Ruth. Thanks for visiting,
    Jane x

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  41. I think your new charms are lovely and I'm not surprised they are selling so well. I'm a big fan of Arthur Rackman, the tea party image is so wonderful. Bethx (thelinencat)

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  42. His work is wonderful isn't it Beth. I have been busy making my charms they are really fun to put together . Happy Wednesday ....mid week already .
    Jane x

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  43. Wow! So much to see here! I have got to go for a peak around your blog! Love your card and your jewelry! Thank you so much for linking up and playing along in the ‘SPARKLE CHALLENGE at Visible Image. Great to have you playing along with us :) P.S. I have Santa’s Candy on my blog !

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  44. Thanks so much for your kind comments and I love Santa candy..I will pop over to your blog,
    Jane x

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  45. Jane, I've got a blog award for you on my blog, I hope you'll come over and accept it.

    Cheers,
    Kasey ~ in Oz

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  46. What a stunning creation!
    Gorjuss colours and love your sweet wee image
    Thanks for joining in the fun at Lili’s Little Fairies this time
    Hugs Melly xxx

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  47. That's very sweet of you Kasey, thanks so much,
    Jane x

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  48. A beautiful card! Adore the sweet image, gorgeous colours and a great design too!
    Thank you for joining us at ABC Christmas :)
    Kelly.x

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  49. Thanks for visiting Kelly,
    Jane x

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  50. realy beautiful card, love the colours, thank you for joining us at http://visibleimage.blogspot.co.uk/
    good luch with your entry x

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Jane x