Friends....

This will be my last post for a little while as we are leaving for Skiathos in a couple of days. Before I go I want to say thank you to everyone who left such encouraging comments about my doll. I'm looking forward to starting on a new one when I get back from my holiday.
I also want to dedicate this little piece of work to all my fab friends out there who have been such a tremendous support to me these past few weeks.........you know who you are!!!
I started off by wet-felting, added more by hand needle-felting, then finished it off with flowers, stitching and beads.
It says....... 'A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words'.

Yassas!!

Saving Grace.......

Well, I did my best.....and I don't think she turned out too bad. Not pretty....but thats ok.


Here's the begining and end of the painting stage.......yes, its the same doll!

In Need of Some Beauty Treatment......

I've been working on my cloth and clay doll for the past couple of days...but I can't believe how ugly she is!!! I think tomorrow is going to be the crucial day - I can only hope that paint will be her saving grace. In fact, that is what I shall call her.........Grace.
Here she is waiting for her legs to be sewn on. Her skirt was soaked in coffee (deliberately - not an accident) and is now hanging on the line. Now you'll have to come back tomorrow, won't you.......if only to see if I can perform a miracle!

We had a day in Nottingham on Saturday and I bought this fabulous candle from the Token House; it smells amazing. But the pot is the best part....... how gorgeous is that!
Yesterday I gathered up all the hydrangea heads in the garden to dry them...such pretty colours.


And finally......in watercolour mode........

Precious Things.......

I have a few things to show you...so I hope you'll bear with me! First of all....we've only just dared to open up our bird box and have a look inside. We knew that the blue tits had deserted the nest in May because a black cat kept upsetting them....but we wanted to be absolutely sure. Inside; 10 perfect eggs in a cosy nest; so beautiful ..... but so sad. My son says they look exactly like Cadburys Mini Eggs - and they are the same size too. Yuk.....doesn't bear thinking about!!!!


I decided to have my own set of 'Mini Moos' having admired the ones friends have sent in packages recently. It was great fun choosing which pictures of my work to have on them.....and I'm thrilled with the results!!
Just look at this array of gorgeousness! I ordered these collage papers from Ro Bruhn's etsy shop....I love her work. I'm going to use them on some mixed-media pages in a journal. I want to play with combining paper, stitching and fabric.
And lucky me! I won the give-away on Corinne Phillips blog....six wonderful fairy postcards of her work. They will probably appear on my journal pages too. I especially love the Little Black Dress fairy......
My printed tapes arrived from lillalotta.....looking forward to using them.
And finally.......I've been making ATCs using copies of my own paintings. I printed out sections then added extra paint and embellishments. These two will be winging their way to a new friend, Gini, who I have recently met through ABAA. She's a lovely lady who has a great sense of humour! I recommend a visit to her blog.

Chunky ATC Challenge and More Gifts!

Over at Saturday's Workout the challenge is to make a chunky ATC.....and as I have a drawerful of these (thanks to DH) I thought I ought to take up the challenge! I used a sketch of mine from here and added some colour using pencil crayons, acrylic paints, torn paper, lace, paper napkins, heavy gesso, gold pen and some embellishments.

I had another wonderful surprise in the post a couple of days ago. My lovely friend Jacky in Australia told me she would send a bookmark for my fabric book (to go with the page she made) - but I wasn't expecting one of her gorgeous Klimt Dolls as well (in all my favourite colours!)
She is so beautiful! And I love the way Jacky has shaped the base and weighted it with rice (I think) so she stands up perfectly on her own. Just perfect!
And that wasn't all.....she included the prettiest bundle of fabric, lace and beads which I haven't yet undone. I just love looking at it all together like that. Thank you Jacky.....I am so grateful.

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I discovered an Etsy site last week called Lillalotta - where Anna sells beautiful printed cotton tapes with words and pictures on them. I ordered these, plus a pretty alphabet. Can't wait to get them!
My next project will involve painting faces on clay.....I've subscribed to Jane DesRosier's doll workshop. I've been wanting to have a go at this for ages, but I didn't think I'd be able to do the faces. Well now I think I'm ready for a go.......
......so watch this space!