Summer's slipping away, isn't it? The evenings are shortening, conkers are beginning to fall from trees and there's a feeling in the air that autumn's on it's way. Hopefully the cold weather will hold off for a while as I've no intention of putting the heating on for a long, long time. I grew up in the Seventies, in a house lacking central heating, so I'm used to chilly bedrooms and wearing extra layers being the norm, not the exception. Anyway, I thought I'd begin this crafty round-up with a few successful gell prints I've done lately. I mean, they're successful in my eyes. Who knows what anyone makes of 'em!
I love the effect you get layering white on top of the print.
All of these have three layers in total - a plain background, then a stencil, then another stencil on top of that.
I've been using prints to make seed packets, for the love-in-a-mist and hollyhock seeds I've collected from the allotment.
Easy to make and you can give little envelopes of seeds as gifts to friends too.
You can use PVA or a glue stick, but I find double sided tape works best when assembling these.
Before I go, a couple of books I've read lately. 'Citadel' is extremely good. A fast moving plot and believable characters, set against a background of the second world war and the French resistance movement. I'd absolutely recommend it. 'The Nightingale' is good too, though I wouldn't endorse it quite so much. It also centres around the French resistance, specifically two sisters, and the book's got a great message about the importance of acknowledging women's wartime contributions. My reservations are mainly about Isabelle, the younger sister. Her character does develop but initially she's described as traffic-stoppingly beautiful, headstrong, impetuous. A very cliched portrayal often found in romantic fiction. I think we're supposed to admire Isabelle's continual recklessness, but often it's less admirable than idiotically dangerous. There're parts of the plots that stretch credibility - the way she stumbles across a downed Allied pilot, still in his flight suit, hiding in shrubbery in the middle of a busy town. Also, her first crossing of the treacherous Pyrenees, done with no mountaineering skills at all. That would be pretty much impossible, surely? For a young woman just out of finishing school? Who's not exactly led a physically tough life?
I notice the book's had critics who've taken the author to task over historical accuracy in certain details. But despite 'The Nightingale' having flaws it will've opened many casual readers eyes to how horrific life was for women during the occupation, and that can only be a good thing.
The next book to leave the To-Be-Read pile and be cracked open is 'Black Narcissus' by Rumer Godden. I've seen a film version of it, but not read it before. Here's hoping it's a good one.
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