Tea on Tuesday ..... and a friendly moth!!

I'm actually posting my 'Tea on Tuesday' on the correct day for once! I've been sitting in the garden reading my Victoria Hislop novel with a cup of Redbush (or Rooibos) tea...... gorgeous with or without milk. (Can you see my blue pebble fountain in the background?)
Cheers Kimmie! I shall be over soon to see what you're up to.

Victoria Hislop wrote 'The Island'; one of my all time favourite books which I read by a pool in Crete with Spinalonga Island in my view. I wish I was reading this one in Grenada!
I hope its going to be as good as The Island- I'll let you know.
Yesterday evening we were sitting outside and spotted this moth on the wall....I looked it up on Google and apparently its a Poplar Hawk Moth. Its body was so chubby and furry..... it looked almost cuddly!

It sat very nicely for a photo on my hand......

......and on a leaf. What a cute face!!!!!

(Click for a close-up)

I altered an ATC woodblock today - just because I felt like it. The photo is from our family archives...the gel transfer didn't work quite as well as I'd hoped but I think its ok. All the usual layering took place; torn text, paper napkins, gesso, stencils etc.......

Here's the photo - please feel free to use if you want to.
Hope you're having a lovely day, wherever you are........

The Wanderer Returns

I can't believe its over 3 weeks since I last posted......so much has happened in that time; we've had some difficult and upsetting things to deal with in the family and I haven't felt like making anything. But hopefully after this week we can start and get back to normal.

The 6" x 6"fabric collage is my piece for our dragonfly challenge at http://bigartadventure.blogspot.com/ . The background is purple silk and on top I used organza, stamped and printed fabric, rusty leaves from Retro Cafe (which I coloured with Lumiere paint), torn text, gems and Angelina for the dragonfly. The stamp is from Crafty Originals.

I stretched the whole thing around piece of wood with wadding between as you can see here.....

I discovered a new material last week which I'm quite excited about! Its called Mistyfuse - I'm sure many of you have heard of it before, but it's new to me. I dyed some pieces of silk then put threads, sequins, gilding flakes etc on top...... placed the Mistyfuse over and ironed with baking parchment between to protect the iron. All the bits and pieces then become attached to the background. Here are my practice pieces. Next I will hand and machine stitch over the top to make absolutely sure everything is attached.

You'll find a much better explanation of this technique here: http://twocreativestudios.com/free.htm under 'Fabric Charms'.

This is where I've been spending the recent glorious sunny days! We have a small walled garden with lots of little sitting areas. We've just added a metal arch and have planted a clematis one side and a pink rose the other - the race is on to see which can reach the top first.

I painted the shed and deck blue......I love the colour but some of our friends think I've gone a bit mad!

This one makes me laugh...a headless DH in the shed!!!

I hope you like my 'new-look' blog. I challenged myself a few days ago to change the html and create 3 columns. It wasn't easy but after a few goes I managed it. You can find instructions on Itkupilli. Next job is a new banner.

Finally I want to thank 2 lovely ladies for recently awarding me these..........

Michelle at http://myjourneytohope.blogspot.com/

and Barbara at http://barbs-spiritsong.blogspot.com/

......so kind.

Fabric Picture

I spent yesterday evening making a fabric picture of Sirena; its 8" tall. Yep...still using those little shells!!!

I got a delivery of merino wool top from Wingham Wool a few days ago (you'll never guess what colours - yes, blues, greens and purples!) Time to go and do some felting I think......

.

Wherever you are in the world......have a wonderful weekend!

Sirena

For the first time in ages I had a whole day to myself today so I decided to think about 2 themes.......shells (again for the ABAA challenge) and painted fabric (something I've been playing around with for weeks). And so I created Sirena (Italian for mermaid). She's 12" tall.

(Click on the pictures)

I painted the fabric for her body with acrylics, then added torn tissue text and flowers (with gel medium), handwriting and stamps. I then machine-stitched flowers, Angelina and strips of fabric onto the front.

I painted the face and dirtied her up a bit with a green chalk stamp, then added those gorgeous fibres from Stef Francis for the hair. Finally I glued shells into her hair and round her neck using Trim-It glue.

She's only roughly made!

Here's the painted and collaged piece of cream calico which I used for her body.

I think this is the first thing I've ever made that I actually feel really happy with.

This is a theme I will develop........

Peppermint Tea With Kimmie!

Better late than never.......here's my 'Tea on Tuesday' with Kimmie.
I was inspired by Patty to have some peppermint tea so I picked some leaves from the garden and poured boiling water over.
Such a pretty colour!

My two varieties of mint are thriving this year...along with the parsley, coriander, thyme and chives.Someone else was interested in the mint today ........

The three 'sticks' you can see behind the herb pots are these.

I've forgotten what they're called.........

As for my news.......well, we had a lovely long weekend at my sisters house in Buckinghamshire. Both she and her husband are 50, so we celebrated with a big party on Saturday night. The weather couldn't have been better so we spent most of the time in their lovely garden. Lesley is a great hostess; I hope she likes the surprise present I've sent to thank her.

Well here I am next to my slim and gorgeous baby sister! Doesn't she look good for 50?!!! (She's the one with the necklace...just in case you hadn't worked it out from the other 3 clues!)
Its actually her birthday today so I hope she sees this.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LESLEY!

More Shells....

I experimented with one of my felt pieces to see if the tiny shells could be attached firmly. The most successful thing I found was 'Trim It' glue which is made for bonding accent beads, sequins and rhinestones to fabric. Well now they can add shells to the list - because it worked really well! This is quite a tiny piece....3" x 2.5"......with all my favourite colours.

The following little collages are 2" x 2" - just the right size for my baby shells.
Don't forget to pop along to The Awfully Big Art Adventure ........ and maybe join in with our challenge?

Shells

Rosie has made a gorgeous piece for our shell challenge on http://bigartadventure.blogspot.com/
I will make something over the weekend, but this afternoon I just made a quick 'twinchie' in between jobs. I like this size of art, 2"x2" is great to work with.

I've been a collector of shells for many years and have some lovely ones...but these are my favourites. Many years ago we visited a beach in France that was totally covered in shells - but they were all absolutely tiny.....every single one. There must have been some kind of disaster that caused them all to die so young. I suppose its quite sad really! Even more amazing is the huge variety; there are tiny cowries, wentletraps, scallops, limpets, periwinkles, oysters, tusk shells - to name but a few!

Some aren't much bigger than a grain of rice - and yet the colour and detail are amazing. They will be perfect for using in a piece for the challenge....I just haven't decided what yet!!

Last night DH and I went to see the new Star Trek film (a prequel)...and it was just BRILLIANT!

I wouldn't normally call myself a Trekkie, but I really enjoyed it and was hanging on to my seat for much of the time. The young actors do a fantastic job of impersonating the original cast, especially Spock and McCoy.

.....live long and prosper.......

Felting Frenzy

It seems that all forms of felting are very much in vogue at the moment. I've tried knitting and hot washing, I've done a fair bit of hand needle-felting.....and this week I've been trying to master the art of wet felting.

I made a couple of large pieces, then cut them up into different sizes. They will become brooches and little pictures. The one above in the middle is 1" square.Some are a bit bigger. I needle-felted on top in places and added beads and stitching (hand and machine).

Maybe one day I'll get my etsy shop like Jackie. I love her velvet and felt brooches so decided to treat myself to a little one; it arrived today....and it's very cute! If you haven't yet discovered Jackie's blog.....go and pay her a visit. You're in for a treat!

I also received a present from a new friend, Poppy . She made a felted bird for me in a luscious shade of purple - unfortunately my camera keeps making it look blue! You should see the sweet felted acorns she makes - they are in her etsy shop.

My third treat in the post today was a set of stamps which I ordered from Michelle Ward. Her website is one of my favourites and I have promised myself that I will dedicate some time to doing her Street Team Challenges in the coming weeks. The stamps were created by Michelle to raise funds for a friend who lost her house in a fire. You can see a better picture here.

Finally....I hope Dot won't mind if I show you one page from her fabric book which I have in my possession.
Her work is so beautiful and colourful...... and fantastically embellished! I think most of you must know her blog, but if you don't then I definitely recommend you go and visit. She's also incredibly thoughtful and kind........a couple of weeks ago she made an Amelia doll for my mum to cheer her up. And it did (it even made dad smile when we took it to the nursing home to show him).

I have made my page for Dot's book and will be passing it on to Sesga in a few days...... I hope she likes it.

Fabric Collages and Swaps

I've spent the past week making fabric collage pictures...some for myself and some for projects I'm involved in. This one has a background of hand dyed fabric, silk and Angelina. The images and words are printed on fabric using jetFX.

These are just little snippets.... the stitches on the mistle thrush look enormous, but they are actually very tiny!!

I received these gorgeous things from Kimmie a few days ago; we did a 'tea and inchies' swap. I love doing swaps - you never know what surprises there might be in the package!! Kimmie's inchies are fabulous.....as is everything she creates. I recommend a visit to her blog if you haven't been before; its full of inspiration!

Thank you Kimmie.......

Derbyshire Open Arts Festival

(Click on map)

If you live anywhere near the Midlands, you might be interested in the Derbyshire Open Arts Festival which is taking place over the Bank Holiday Weekend 23rd - 25th May 2009. Artists will be displaying their work and demonstrating techniques in their homes, studios, public halls and other venues..... which stretch from Glossop in the north to Swadlincote in the south. More details can be found on the website http://www.derbyshireopenarts.co.uk/

Felted Flowers

After their hot wash...here they are drying in the sunshine....... (scroll to the previous post for the 'before' photos)

......a few beads added.....

......and a brooch pin.

I want to try some embroidery stitches on the others ...... need to experiment a bit with that!

(PS Got the pattern from http://www.knitting4fun.com/ - it says the kit makes 5 flowers but I have done 7 and there's still some wool left.)

Sewing and Knitting.......

I wish I could say this was my embroidery..... but sadly no; this is a detail from a tablecloth my friend Lynne showed me last week. Her mother stitched it many years ago and I was astounded to discover that the reverse is virtually identical to the front....... girls were taught to sew properly in those days! Can you tell which is the front? It took me a while....

I've been knitting flowers over the past few days - I have quite a pile of them (they are very quick to do). This is what they look like to start with .....

...then they are stitched into a flower shape....

....and this afternoon they are going in the washing machine on a hot wash! They will hopefully look better when they are felted and the final step will be stitching and beads. Come back later and see how I get on!

Just had to show you the gorgeous fibres I bought from http://www.stef-francis.co.uk/

They sell a large range of hand-dyed threads, fabrics and fibres. The colour schemes are amazing - I love these purples and greens.

Almost too good to use!!

Matchbook... and Tea on Tuesday

I'm in the middle of making matchbooks for a swap and yesterday found a tutorial by Joanne Wardle here.
I've had a go at the 'tuck under the flap' style plus I've done some other designs ..... but they aren't quite finished yet. Audrey has some lovely examples on her blog and suggests using the Stampington template here.I can't believe its been a week since I last posted ..... (tea with Kimmie).
Well here I am again - this time with a cup of gorgeous orange, mango and cinnamon tea (definitely not dishwater!) in my M&S 'berries and leaves' cup. Not sure why the tea is red (shouldn't it be orange?) Anyway..... I'm sitting here with a TENS machine on my back; I've been working at the Beetroot Tree Gallery all day and now I am suffering with terrible back pain. It was a very busy day because there were events all over the holiday weekend at the gallery ...... which meant there was a lot of tidying up to do today! I must be getting too old for that kind of thing......

Tea on Tuesdays

Kimmie at http://artinredwagons.blogspot.com/ has suggested Tea on Tuesdays ..........

.''.......make yourself a cuppa, post a picture of it on your blog with a little something to say about your day, and then link back to me (Kimmie). We'll all make the rounds to see what's up with our blogging buddies and take a pause for some friendship over a hot cuppa ...... ''

So, here's my tea - it contains lemon, limeflowers, milk thistle and lemon verbena. I think I may throw in a slice of lemon as well to give it some flavour.
I do try to like fruit and herbal teas....but many of them just taste like dishwater to me. (Not that I've ever drunk dishwater...)
As for today - well, I helped my daughter move back home. Not something either of us really want, although we love each other very much (she liked having her independence, I liked having a tidy house and a guest room), but she was made redundant a few weeks ago and is struggling to find another job. Living away from home is not an option for her until she does.
We both hope she finds a job very soon........

My Girl.....

Last night I was out with the girls at the 'Stylist of the Future' hairdressing award show in Nottingham. We had a great time, but what made it even better ......... the winner was my daughter's friend and her model was my daughter! Here is the winning team ... the gorgeous girls; Liz (Marie Antoinette) and Sarah.

The majority of the hair was Liz's own, with a few extensions (and a lump of Oasis foam!) She wasn't looking forward to it all being combed out later....ouch!

There were two very proud mums out last night (who probably had a few too many glasses of wine for a Monday night!!!)

Sarah did a montage of all things Marie Antoinette ..... she may have inspired me to do some artwork.......

On Its Way......

Finally completed my fabric book .... now its on its way round the world! Sesga, Dot and Jacky are each going to do a page for it, then when it finally arrives back home I will stitch it all together. This is the cover.......I made the background fabric (my first attempt at nuno felting) then I hand needle-felted and stitched on top.

Inside front cover (I should have put a date - I will do that when I stitch it together).

First page........ (my favourite)

Reverse of first page........with extra embellishment added!

Inside back cover (don't really like this but hey...we learn and grow by making mistakes!)

Back cover...... same technique as front .

Here are a few close-ups.....

Dot is so well-organised; I already have her book! (The pages are scrumptious; you just want to hug them!) So now I need to start thinking about what I will do for her book ........ no pressure then, LOL !!!!!

Fabric Book

I've just finished one side of my page for the book I'm making (a fabric circle journal with Dot, Jacky and Sesga). Mine is on the theme of angels.
I used moda fabric (thank you Dot), Angelina, gold fabric, torn text, an image printed onto fabric and some sequin waste. Here's a close up of the sequin waste and my messy stitching (which was intentional of course, I honestly tried to make it shabby!! )
Do you think I ought to do more to it....hand stitching? Beads? Knots? I can't decide.

I've done both covers, front and back.......now I just need to do the other side of this page and then I'll show all on Monday.

Photo Challenge at ABAA

Rosie and I have decided to have monthly challenges from now on and this month Jaqi is our guest challenger. She has kindly allowed us to use one of her lovely old family photographs to inspire our artwork. I decided to transfer the image onto a 5"x 5" chunky canvas using gel medium. Unfortunaltely its now the wrong way round and (too late) I realise that I should have reversed it before printing it out!
I'd like to thank Ooglebloops for the lovely netting she sent me as part of a packet of treasures last week. It fitted perfectly with my colour scheme. The pansies are from a beautiful pack of tissues! (Torn and applied with gel medium......see Norah's blog if you want to see this technique done really well!)

I used upholstery tacks to attach the wire and the plastic netting .... and very pretty they are too!

The words Only a bird in a gilded cage are from a very old (rather sad) musical hall song you can find here (you can even listen to the tune!) As soon as I saw the photo I had those few words in my mind...it just took a bit of 'googling' to find the actual song!

Anyway...thanks for the challenge Jaqi - I really enjoyed it!

Scrapbook Layouts

Rosie and I spent almost 3 days together last week at my house. We had a lovely time .... we visited the Beetroot Tree Gallery and Peartree Yard ('Aladdin's Cave'), went to The Living Threads embroidery exhibition at Trent College which was just brilliant, had coffee and lunch in Andersons (gorgeous delicatessen).....and, oh yes, we did some crafting as well!

I helped Rosie with her first attempt at hand needle-felting and free machine embroidery (she was a bit too good at it) and she got me started with scrapbooking. I'm doing a book on Soller (Majorca). Here are a few of the pages.......

I've still got lots more to do....and I will hopefully get better at it. But it's so much nicer than an ordinary photo album!!

I've ordered a couple of books from Amazon and one arrived today...it looks fab! I'm hoping to learn how to do wet felting and nuno felting properly.Did anyone else go to this? All the exhibits were fabulous and very inspiring...there was also a shop with all hand made items and demonstrations of different techniques. Rosie and I fell in love with the embellishing machine! (But why are they SO expensive - can anyone tell me?)

Tea and Inchies

I'm doing a 'Tea and Inchies' swap with Kimmie at http://artinredwagons.blogspot.com/
Her post here explains it all. I like the way she describes the joy of having a handful of inchies to feel and look at. I've made mine really thick so they are almost like charms. I love the way they clatter when they are dropped into a dish.

So, Kimmie, I'll be posting 10 of these to you tomorrow...along with a few packs of tea!

I only intended making a dozen..... but got carried away and made 35. I rather like tiny art.

Before I go I just want to thank Lynn at http://hercreativespirit.blogspot.com/ for giving me this award. She's a lovely lady and I'm so glad I found her (thanks to ABAA).

Happy Easter

My garden is awash with muscari (such a wonderful colour) and this morning I've been watching the blue tits building a nest in our box at the bottom of the garden. I managed to take a photo from my craft room window. I was amazed at how long they took pecking around the edge of the hole....apparently they are 'marking' it so the other birds know its taken.

I must remember to prune that buddlea properly when they've gone!!

This is where I was last week....the Los Gigantes hotel in Tenerife. These are the champagne waiters around the pool (I only had the one glass) (per day). Those are my (rather pale) toes...they're a bit browner now.

On Tuesday evening I was here....at the Nottingham Arena!!

Torville and Dean were on top form and Ray Quinn was incredible. It was also good to see Kyran Bracken and Suzanne Shaw skating again. And Jessica performed her Bolero...aaaahh.....

Yesterday afternoon I did some hand needle-felting and made it into a brooch....my very late entry to our ABAA challenge last week.

And finally......thanks to a link from my lovely friend Dot I discovered the work of DJ Pettitt. Her books, paintings and collages are just amazing. I bought some pieces from her etsy shop and they arrived a few days ago. Three of them are on fabric and this is what she kindly suggests....

.....use these images in your mixed media collage work ... or even frame them if desired. They can be sewn on, painted on, you could glue elements on them... just about anything... ink won't smear with water media.

I need to think very carefully what I'm going to do with them!

I hope you all have a wonderful Easter weekend.....enjoy that chocolate!!!!

ABAA New Challenge

Our challenge on http://bigartadventure.blogspot.com/ this week is to alter a piece of cutlery. We have a guest designer/challenger - Patty Szymkowicz - who has made some fabulous pieces for us.
Here are my attempts; I was lucky enough to find some vintage cutlery pieces at The Beetroot Tree Gallery but I also aim to visit some car boot sales and hopefully collect more for future projects.
This is a tiny mustard spoon with wire, gems, a charm and a bird in a nest. I coloured some of the spoon with alcohol inks.
I bent back the prongs of the fork with pliers and added a butterfly, some gems, a charm - and Mona!

Over the past few weeks I've been involved in lots of ATC and bookmark swaps and I want to thank everyone who joined in with me - they are all beautiful.

I did get one rather unusual swap though ........ a little shoe in exchange for a bookmark!!! I love it, thank you Andrea!

If you go here http://talkinghorsesarts.blogspot.com/2009/03/snowy-sundayagain.html

and here

http://talkinghorsesarts.blogspot.com/2009/03/okhere-is-secret-that-i-need-to-tell.html

you'll see some more....

I won't be posting for a just over a week as hopefully I shall be lying in the sun!

I'll be thinking of you all - I promise!

Have a great weekend.....

Linda x

Giveaway at the Retro Cafe Art Gallery

Kristen at Retro Cafe Art Gallery is having a give away which will be drawn on April 5th. There are some wonderful new 'paper cuts' and collage sheets to be had (I especially love those crowns!)
Click on the banner and it will take you there, good luck!

(Don't know why I put that........ I want to win!)

Mum, Scarf and Paper Whimsy

I finally got to do my second Paper Whimsy forum challenge today (I've been awaiting the arrival of some girly collage sheets). Again, its a Hilda Conkling poem and the idea is to use some free images from Gale (at the Paper Whimsy forum) and then put your own interpretation on it. I used gesso and paints as well as PW images.
The poem is lovely..... I remember examining moss as a child and thinking it looked like little trees.

I probably told you when I posted the last one that I'm putting these into a book.

Today I also made my item for the new ABAA challenge....but you'll have to wait till Friday to see that. We're doing something a bit different this week.....hope that's got you wondering!!!!!

I've been busy with mum over the last few days - at the weekend she celebrated her 80th birthday and we had a party for her at our house. Here she is with some of her presents...I bought her the watch and my sister bought her an iPod!! (She's probably listening to the Ting Tings). She's wearing her 80 badge of course. Yesterday - her actual birthday - I took her to see dad at the nursing home. It was sad because we couldn't tell him it was her birthday (he wouldn't have coped with that) but mum did very well and we did our best to be cheery.

One of the best treats you can give my mum is to take her to a wool shop and last week we went to a fantastic one in Beeston, near where she lives. She bought fresh supplies and I got this gorgeous Kaffe Fassett variegated wool to knit a scarf. I love the way its changing colour as I knit. Yes, I know its spring but I'm sure I'll get lots of use out of it in the autumn! Anyway, as mum says, its not just about the wearing - its about the pleasure of knitting........

Birdhouses

My challenge this week on our blog Rosie and Linda's Big Art Adventure is to make a birdhouse. It can be flat or 3D...we like lots of variety! I made one from a plain little box 3" tall (thank you Chriss!) I cut into the sides of the lid, in the middle, and bent it to make the roof...easy!! I found the little 1" nest in a craft shop for 30p and I made the eggs myself. From my craft room window I can see the blue tits and coal tits visiting our nesting box on the garage wall. I hope we get permanent residents by Easter - I'll be able to keep watch on their progress.

My second example is VERY lime I'm afraid - but it is my current favourite colour! My DH cut the shape out of wood for me - I'm thinking of asking for some smaller ones now. (Wonder what his answer will be?) Most of the images I have used for these projects are from Vintage Moth - Abbie kindly gives away her pictures for free (and they are lovely).

I love the song 'Make a little birdhouse in your soul' and whilst searching for it on YouTube I found this very funny version with illustrations. The sound quality isn't good but its still worth watching.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_9BXx8VzeU&feature=related

Have fun!

Great Blogs!

I recommend you visit the brilliant 'Bluebirds Living in the Meadow' and enter the blogaversary draw. Its one of my favourite blogs and there are some great prizes to be won.

Whilst I'm here I want to thank Anja at http://artefaktotum.blogspot.com/ for giving me a blog award. Her blog is definitely worth a visit as well......you'll pick up some great tips!

Another truly amazing artist is DJ Pettitt. Have you seen her blog? Her artwork is so inspiring....

Make sure you also visit her website http://www.djpettitt.com/ I am in awe!!!!

Newsprint Challenge - ATCs

On our challenge blog this week Rosie suggested we use newsprint. I started by covering a sheet of it with acrylic paint and stamps......then I cut it up into ATC-sized pieces and free-machined onto them.

If anyone would like to trade .... let me know! I still have more to complete..........

New Sewing Machine

I've been having fun playing with my new sewing machine over the past week. I love using the darning foot and just drawing freely with it. Here are my first efforts - although I must start taking it seriously from now on and do something sensible!

(I have used the technique on my ATCs though...see post above.)

Paper Whimsy Forum Challenge

I was inspired by two of my amazing friends, Patty and Sandee, to have a go at the Paper Whimsy Forum Challenge (you need to go to the website and click on forum at the top). Gale provides a limited edition collage sheet to form the basis of this, then you can add other bits and pieces of your own. I loved playing around with her images.....I cut up the fish to make plant pots, milagros flames on the hearts and architectural details!! The collage has to be based on a wonderful poem by Hilda Conkling (click on picture below and you will see it). I'm going to make a little book (5"x5") with my my efforts. I now need to contact Gale for sheet number two....can't wait!

My door opens.......

....to reveal a Paper Whimsy girl.

(Sorry about the colour changes in the photos - the real colour is more like the last one.)

Gel Transfers and a Canvas

I've been playing with gel transfers this week; trying them on different surfaces. I put 3 onto this little chunky canvas (5"x5") and then finished it off with some thick gesso, Lumiere paint (halo blue-gold), Stuart Gill Alchemy paint (amethyst) plus some lace and a butterfly. I'm making a number of things at the moment to put on one side for a possible Etsy shop - this will be one of them I think. Maybe.
(I covered the canvas in gesso before doing the gel transfer and it worked fairly well.)

Below is a gel transfer of an old family photo which I applied directly to a woodblock. It worked really well but I wish I'd gessoed it first because I'm not keen on the wood grain showing through. I will keep practising!

I'd like to thank the 'Outsider Artists' for the lovely free image of the little angel. (Great website - go and take a look!)