Sunshine After the Rain

This gorgeous little girl is one of the new images which form part of the Mabel Lucie Attwell range of licensed products, launched today by the Artistic Stamper. It is a truly nostalgic range as, when I mentioned this children's book illustrator to my husband, he said, 'My Mum had one of her books when I was a kid'. I hope others will have the same sense of nostalgia.

My 'story' for this little girl is that she begged to be allowed out in the rain, so that she could wear her bright yellow raincoat and her floral Wellington boots, to stamp in the puddles. Just as she has gone outside, the sun comes out and there is a beautiful rainbow!

The rainbow was brayered onto glossy photo paper, and the puddle was made in the same way, but in shades of green, with rain drops represented by tiny crystals. I stamped the little girl once on plain white card, then a second time on brayered yellow glossy photo paper, cutting the raincoat out of the second image and adhering it to the first. I coloured in the remainder of her image with a touch of coloured pencil. In the actual stamp she is wearing little Mary Jane shoes, so I have turned these into floral Wellington boots, by cutting out this section in floral paper. This has given the impression that she is turning her feet inwards, in a gawky, little girl sort of way! I then glazed the umbrella and boots with clear nail varnish (I was away from home and didn't have my Glossy Accents to hand .....). I painted one of the chipboard flowers from the Artistic Stamper with yellow and orange acrylic paint to represent the sun, and added a gold button to the centre. I had intended to put this under the frame on the corner, and then decorate the frame, but I felt this detracted from the impression of a sun I wanted to create, so I have left it quite plain.