Fifty Posts... Wow!

It's been a busy week with a very strange mix of good and very sad news.

One of my closest friends lost her father to pancreatic cancer a few days ago - a truly heartbreaking loss. I knew very little about this terrible form of cancer a few months ago, but I've become much more knowledgeable about it through my friend and her efforts to raise awareness and funds for research (you can read more about pancreatic cancer and donate here).

With T's job in full swing and my little sister now in the city (and pretty much my new neighbour), it's been hard to find time to sit down and finish the stamps I started last weekend. It wasn't until this evening that I was finally able to carve the snowflake and then do a quick test run of each of the stamps. After more than ten hours of carving, I really wanted to see how these things were going to turn out.

First up was the snowflake. I was a little worried about the design, especially when I noticed that the individual branches weren't quite even. The prints ended up being quite pretty though, and the stamp worked well with a variety of ink consistencies and patterns. Should be a handy little stamp as we inch towards (dare I say it) winter.


I was much happier with my test of the poppy print. I've been looking for a simple image to create a set of lovely thank you cards and I think this print will be perfect.


The biggest disappointment of the four was definitely the key stamp (sorry Grace!). The stamp produced a clean image, but I just don't like how the design of the key translated on linoblock. If I try another key, I'll likely aim for either a much more ornate design, or a very simple version of what I have now (i.e. no more crazy loops).


I'm also a bit on the fence about the sea horse print, although the stamp itself produced a strong, clear print. I've decided to reserve judgment on this one until I test it out on some of those fabulous aqua cards I've got tucked away. Maybe with some white ink...


With everything going on this week, I also forgot that this post was going to be my 50th Sonnet & Mayhem post! Cue balloons, confetti, cake, and a brass band (with extra french horns, of course).

I can't believe I've reached 50 posts! When I first started this blog, I wasn't even sure if I'd keep it up more than a week or two. It's been an amazing experience to write about this crazy project and have such amazing feedback (thank you readers, family and friends!). I have lots of plans for Sonnet & Mayhem in the next few months, so hopefully there will be a lot more of these to come!