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Sunday 31 May 2015

Rusting Fabric

31st May 2015

I love the 'look' of rusted fabric .....

....found a small, old, lace edged tray cloth which was already stained when I bought it in a charity shop.....


.....sprayed with vinegar.....


...covered with wire wool and sprayed again....


.....rolled up fabric and wire wool....


....wrapped in cling film....


...after about 3 hours had to have a peek!


It is on it's way, rolled the opposite way and rewrapped, will have another look tomorrow!

I do like experimenting when I have no control over the result, I like the surprise when I open the package!!

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Made a few more 4" square cards using my pressed flowers, the bluebells came out well.....



...the photos are too dark and I don't know why....

....must press some more tomorrow.




Friday 29 May 2015

A 'Laurel & Hardy' Day!!!!

29th May 2015

Think I mentioned we were decorating the kitchen.....

....at this point I have to say it is the first time in 40 years that RD has helped with the decorating!!!

I started painting the ceiling, don't like painting ceilings, and RD offered to take over, don't think I was working fast enough!!

Within the first 15 mins he 'slipped', landed in the sink with a clatter and nearly caused me to have a heart attack! I decided I was better off walking the dog and leaving him to it.....

......forgot the camera!

 It was windy, cloudy and trying to rain when Jack and I arrived at the beach,  there were large JCB's trundling along the beach to the 'workings' of the new pipe line and when Jack saw them he shot off,  raced up the steps from the beach, totally ignoring my calls....
.....I raced after him, stepped into a pool which was much deeper than I thought and felt the water rushing into my wellies!! Reached Jack on the prom and squelched my way home, there was a  cracked strip on both my boots!!

Arrived home to find RD still painting the ceiling commenting it was a very large area. He proceeded to move the ladder with the paint tin on top, you have guessed, the tin fell onto him and his shirt has a large paint splatter on it! I just laughed and was thankful the tin wasn't full!

Ceiling finished, my turn to paper, all went well until the last strip when I stepped down from the ladder and put my foot into the paste bucket!

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First thing this morning I made a chilli.....

.....thought the pepper shapes were lovely and put them on one side to print with...


....used the Gelli...


.....first print...


....cleaned the Gelli, then added green...


....then repeated with red acrylic....

...left is first print, right is 'ghost'...


.....printed on paper with red/yellow and some sponge blobs...


....played with Brusho, painted then sprinkled...


.....this was a print from the plastic beneath the painted paper.


I was feeling calm after my creative 30 minutes and went back downstairs to clean the kitchen!






Wednesday 27 May 2015

Been Blogging Two Years Today!!

27th May 2015

Pageview chart 36844 pageviews - 436 posts,

I am AMAZED by the number of page views from all over the world for something I enjoy doing!

The last couple of days have been quite busy, usual household chores, started painting the kitchen ceiling, shopping for paint samples and lining paper for the walls, cleaning the tops of cupboards, you get the picture!!!

Started tidying my work space and sorted my embroidery threads.....

.....so pleased with this special box and love those colours....


.....found items in my stash which I used to make cards to raise funds for the park on our Fun Day.


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I finished my costume for Fun Day.

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Also found a template for an 'envelope pocket' that can be used to make a book and thought I would try and share this with you, a first for me!!!!


The template is a strip of paper 4x width, this strip is 3" x 12"


....fold in half then half again


.....my template to show the folds....


......I have a problem with spacial awareness but really hope this works for you....



.....the left end square is folded up over the triangle fold....


....then folded over the centre square....



....then right triangle is folded into the left triangle...

.....a pocket!


Made some more 2" x 8"...



.....thought they would be a good pocket for a money/voucher gift!





When I was on my Cornwall course Maggie used this method to make a 1" pocket as a label and it contained a special message! 

Also a number of these pockets can be fixed together to make a book....

....watch this space!

I have tried to make my 437th post a little different, hope you liked it!!!


Sunday 24 May 2015

Moon Gazing Hare Picture

24th May 2015

This morning I went to a meeting with people interested in setting up an artists/makers co-operative. It was held in The Chadwick Hotel, St Annes overlooking the sea. There were nine of us, all enthusiastic and our first 'fair/exhibition' is on November 22nd at the Chadwick Hotel, quite exciting to be involved in the formation of an artists group and definitely worth trying!

Came home and started on a picture....

Layered various fabrics....


.....free machined.....


.....a Kantha stitch on the silk sky....


.....the finished picture in a mount.


I now want to needle felt a hare!

Next decided to make some backgrounds..... 


....using Mohair, Merino fleece on a felt base....


.....completed one card...


....various fabrics, beads and hand embroidery.

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Also managed a couple more crochet bunting triangles and checking out Pinterest!!

Saturday 23 May 2015

Where Did This Week Go???

23rd May 2015

Have you ever had a week that has been busy but not much to show for it????

This has been my week, organising the electrician to renew our kitchen lights, buying paint for the kitchen ceiling( hate painting ceilings) food shopping, walking the dog, cooking, baking, making a costume for our Centenary Fun Day in the park, bunting for Fun Day and some embroidery.

I learnt some new stitches at the Embroiderer'd Guild evening and finished the stitches at home and decided to put them in a small book.


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On Fun Day I am  on the cake stall in costume as this is the park's centenary year.....

.....made an apron to wear over a grey blouse and gathered skirt....

....took longer than I thought!


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Have added more felt/silk to my 'bowl'....
....still more to do!


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This an ongoing piece, it started as a felted piece using my embellisher, covered with scrim and some stitching but I didn't like it!

When I was in my course in Cornwall Anne Griffiths showed a piece of fabric she had embroidered on her journeys and I loved the idea of making flowers in a variety of ways and colours.That is what I am doing, will probably make it into a book cover.



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At last I know what they are doing on the beach....


.....a lovely day today after a cold, very windy week....


...the sky was so beautiful....


.....work to clean up the water.....


.....loved the shapes/colours in this photo....


.......preparation for the new 1000 metre pipe line....


.....fabulous colours....


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Tomorrow I am at the first meeting of a new group of artists trying to form a co-operative, quite exciting.......




Tuesday 19 May 2015

Visit to a Flower Festival

Yesterday I had a very enjoyable lunch with friends where a Flower Festival event was mentioned and three of us went to St Helen's Church, Churchtown, near Garstang to see it.

A very beautiful old church dating back to 1180 was decorated with the most amazing flower arrangements and handcrafts, my camera ran out of battery so I didn't manage a photo of the church itself but did manage photos of many of the beautiful exhibits......


......fabric, machine stitched...



......these structures were embroidered and beaded....



.....this was fabric stitched/embroidered on a PVC background, so effective.....


......modern interpretation of Asiatic Lilies, stitched and embroidered organza...


.....velvet manipulated by stitch....




......children were also involved from schools and local groups....


......amazing floral displays....








.....based on Van Gogh Sunflowers....


.....embroidery on clerical robes....


....a lovely idea, a prayer tree.....


....Monet's Garden water feature....



.....wood turning....



....quilting....


....the altar was soooo beautiful with floral displays....


...a spider web in wire...






......flower, art and ceramics....


....an amazing feeling of community in this church and I am so glad to have seen it, so inspirational!