Here's the second card in my new 'Herm series'. I've photographed it open from above, so that you can see the full width of the photo background. I took this picture as we walked towards Herm's famous Shell Beach, and came across a row of brightly coloured kayaks lying beside the path. I love vistas like this - they add so much interest to a general view. Anyway, once we had got down on to the beach, I switched into full-on shell collecting mode, and three of the treasures I found are glued on to the card to complement the quilling. The tiny little red-tipped one at the top is called a Pink Top; the one on the right is a small but beautifully patterned Scallop - and the one on the left is a Cowrie (which I found in amazing abundance on Herm).
I have a fascinating book entitled 'Fifty Sea Shells from Herm Island' by Jill S. Kendrick in which she describes many of the treasures to be found on Shell Beach. And I just love this line which she wrote in her introduction: "... [shells] are a casual suggestion, strewn on the beach, of the teeming population of marine creatures which inhabit our seas and shores". That sums up perfectly the way I feel about sea shells - they truly are little treasures, cast up by the ocean for our delight.
