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......