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Very interesting, and pretty results. I remember doing something like the strawberry thing at school. Very informative

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Thanks, Terry! Printing with strawberries is much more fun than the potato printing I remember. Tastier, too (yup, I'll admit that some strawbs landed in my mouth rather than in the paint!)!

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You could sell edible art!

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There wouldn't be any left to sell - I'd scoff the lot! 🤣

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🤣

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Very interesting, and pretty results. I remember doing something like the strawberry thing at school. Very informative

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This has just made me purchase a yellow gold punnet to enhance my re reading xx

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Yay! Bon appetit! 😋

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Rebecca, this is so fabulous! I want a repeat of your strawberry play here in Austin! Oh, my! I just love everything you did, and how you did it. Love the sun prints. I'm going to read it over and over. You've inspired me so much! (P.S. thanks for the mention, btw. ❤️) The strawberries turned out so great. So great.

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Oh, how lovely - thanks, Mary! I remember first being given a pack of sun print paper by my uncle in America - I'd never seen anything like it before! That kit was commercially made, but the sheets I have now had been painted by hand with the light-sensitive emulsion, so the blue comes out with some beautiful and subtle streaks in places.

Mum and I had booked on a day course in May to get to know all about cyanoprinting - mixing the chemicals, using photographic masking techniques, working with fabric as well as paper - but sadly it was cancelled. Maybe another time!

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I love the mess, the experimentation, and the final outcome! I truly enjoyed this post, Rebecca. And, I love your quote: That scar is my sigh of relief. It’s perfect because it’s not perfect. 💕

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Aww, thank you, Stella! It's amazing how something already being harmed makes us less precious about it. I was so grateful for that little scar - it's a tiny tear on the edge of the cover - it's like starting the first page of a sketchbook with a scribble rather than an 'it-has-to-be-perfect' piece of art!

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And of course, your creativity ensured that pages 1, 2, 3, 4 etc are still available for future use. No starting at the beginning for Rebecca!! Which means you’ll never know what you’ll find as you leaf through. Brave, clever soul. (And something which may relate to the lack of map skills - your brain is non-linear!)

Lovely non-arting. Grin. Can’t use the word ‘work’, CAN use the word ‘play’. Delightful results, with so much additional potential for future ‘proper art’ sessions. Well done Jim. Well done Rebecca. ❤️💕

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YES!!!!!!!!! You spotted that I didn't start at the beginning! I'd NEVER done that before, but when I was writing my last Art & Treasures post I'd been looking at some of the ideas I'd found online about how to start a new sketchbook without pressure, and that was one of them - and it felt so fun to start on a random page! 🤣

It hadn't occurred to me that the fact I was so comfortable with doing that might be related to my map reading issues - but I think you're absolutely right! What a brilliant association to have made! 😊

Thank you so much for reading, Beth! 😘

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Precious, lovely.

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So kind, Mary - thank you! ☺️

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Bravo!!!! Bravo!!!! Hurrah!!!!! Hooray!!!! I absolutely love everything you did! You kept it simple, playful and fun!!! You started in the middle of your book too!!! And 3 cheers for the thoughtfulness your sweetheart put into your new book!!! Yippee!!! Keep going!!! Oh, and thanks for the mention!! 🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚

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Awwwww, what a lovely cheer - thank you, Sue!!! And yes, I DID start in the middle of the book - I'd never done that before and it felt WONDERFUL!

Thank you so much for your encouragement - and constant inspiration in your own posts! 😘 I really appreciate you!

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You're so welcome!!!! And I'm honored to have encouraged and inspired you!!! Thank you!!!! 🤗😘🥰💚💚💚💚💚 And I really appreciate you too!!!! I look forward to whatever you do next!!!

Question: would other fruits print like your strawberries did? Oranges? Kiwis? Pears?

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OOOOOOOH! Yes, I’m sure they would! Oranges in particular would be very interesting. Hmmm, what else? Lychees would be fun to do. Squeals How about a PINEAPPLE…. oh Sue, look what you’ve staaaaaaarted now……. 👀😉🤣

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Yes!!! Oh yes!!! A pineapple by you would be such fun to see!!! Yippee!!!! Go Rebecca go!!!!!! AMD what about miniature peppers?? Jalapenos and...??? What about flowers??!! Would flowers and leaves print like the strawberries??? I'm keen to see what you do next!!! How fun!!!!!! 💚💚💚💚💚💚

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Oh gosh!

….adds pineapple to online grocery order…

😁

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💚💚💚💚🍍🍍🍍🍍🍍 - and if it doesn't print very well as a looks-like-itself fruit segment can you make it into an imaginary fruit? Perhaps with a playful name and description of how the new fruit was "discovered" and learned how to be eaten by the wild Holdenbeest ?? 😁🤣😘🍍🍍

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I’ve never started in the middle of a sketchbook! It would put me off, yet it’s probably why I should try it! You are both so brave ☺️

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In reading this post, I feel like the circus has come to town! Such great fun, spontaneity and joy. I love seeing how a creative mind works, Rebecca. Your strawberries are absolutely delicious.

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'The circus has come to town' - oh Sharron, how lovely! 🎪

I thoroughly enjoyed making these 'studies in scarlet' - even though some of them were blue, LOL - and I'm looking forward to the next time I get to play around with something and NOT make art with it! 🍓

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We look forward to it too!

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Beautiful Rebecca, you’ve definitely got me thinking about starting up my art bits again xxxx

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Thank you, Jo - and hurrah, how lovely - do show us!!! xxx

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It’s fun to read about how much fun you had playing with the strawberries. You truly captured the spontaneous fluid quality that is found in all true play, and the joy of discovery. My preschool classes used to enjoy making sun prints using items from the classroom set out on dark colored construction paper, which would fade leaving the dark outlines.

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Thank you so much, Kerry! 'True play' is right - I got delightfully carried away with it all, and as a result I've got a huge backlog of chores to catch up on - shhhhh!

Construction paper is I think what I know as 'sugar paper' - we used to use that in art projects at school too - in fact I think I've got some here somewhere - and it's notorious for fading in bright light, so what a great plan to try it for sun printing. Thank you so much! I might have a go - perhaps I'll attach some leaves to a piece of it and tape it to a south-facing window.

I'll report back! 😁

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Your curiosity and delight soar in this post! Thank you Rebecca for sharing with us. Beautiful.

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Oh Julie, so kind! Thank you! x

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You're so welcome. I hope your week is off to a great start. I hope to see you later today or in the near future to write.

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You’re welcome! Always happy to help. 😊

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I am enchanted!!! Rebecca, everything you made is just so, so beautiful, inspiring and makes me want a print of each one to hang and to gaze at.

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Awww Mary, thank you very much for reading and enjoying!! 🍓

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It was such a visual delight and I tried to imagine your voice (Mind you, as an American, I have this "notion" of what British accent would be) reading it while you wrote it all down.

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LOL - perhaps one of these days I’ll be brave enough to do a voiceover! 😁

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Isn't it fun to experiment and discover new ways to make lovely things! So creative!!

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Thanks, Ms. Writer - and it most certainly is! Experimentation is so liberating! 😊

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Congratulations on your ten years, and so much fun with strawberries. Love it!

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Awww thanks, Sue! Those ten years have flown! 😁 Playing with strawberries felt like such a lovely start for my new book. 🍓

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The print and textures are fascinating. Love this as always and how lovely of Jim to have a book specially bound. I used to make and bind 'artists' books' as an artform in another life and really appreciate what he commissioned.

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Thank you, Prue! And yes, it was so lovely of Jim - and such a surprise! ❤️

How lovely that you used to make and bind books - what a brilliant thing to do. I'd love to read more about that!

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