Hello. These are some lovely things sent to me by a lovely lady called Carla who reads my blog, sent to me all the way from Tennessee.
Carla emailed me and said she'd like to mail me 'a little happy'. These beautiful things certainly did make me happy, but it was less the things and more the kindness and thoughtfulness of the person who sent them that generated the happiness. Thank you again Carla, I hope you're having a lovely day.
Hello. Here's a bit of detail of an embroidered paper collage I've nearly finished. I made the paper base ages ago, it's one of the few things I had unpacked so I decided to do some work on it. I really struggle to photograph these kind of pieces - especially the whole piece, as the palette is pale and subtle - you can't really get the detail when I photograph the whole thing - I really need to learn to use my camera properly instead of using the auto function! I might put this on etsy - when its framed. Does anyone out there know a good place to buy box frames (in the UK) - the last place I got some was habitat - but they are really hard to find, especially reasonably priced one - any tips would be much appreciated.
(my posts are like buses aren't they! - nothing for ages and then two come along at once!)
Hello there. I made myself a bracelet..just because...or maybe to mark my one year blog anniversary which was a few days ago. It's just a simple thing, a bit of lace and some vintage buttons - and I've been waiting to use this little vintage heart button for ages and didn't really want to give it away - so now I get to keep it and wear it.
The last bracelet I posted about, Susan asked to see a picture of it on my wrist, I tried to photograph it but it just looked like I had a broken arm or something! - Anyway - I photographed this one round the top of a vase - anyway, you get the idea...
..hope you all have a lovely weekend, and thanks for looking at my blog over the past year!
Hello. Vintage trimmings, bought from the same antique fair as before and another card album..
I like to use flowers in some of my embroidered paper collage pieces so it'll be good inspiration for me (that's my excuse anyway)..
I'd also like to learn the names of some of the wild flowers I'm seeing on my walks with Sparky - I love some of the common names for them, like 'Lady's Smock' and 'Tufted Vetch' - I haven't quite got to grips with the latin names yet - for wildflowers or for the plants in my garden! Iain and I spent ages searching the garden centre for a Lilac when we should have been looking for 'Syringa'! we found it in the end, that's one name I've learnt anyway.
Hello. Here's a bracelet I made - a bit like the one in this post.
Just working on little things at the moment as I don't have my workroom sorted yet. I'm pleasantly aching from digging the garden yesterday - it was warm and lovely to be outside. The trees in our garden are finally putting out a few little leaves and now, along the hedgerows where I walk with Sparky it is lush and green and full of wild flowers....things are starting to feel hopeful....
Hello.Thought you might like to see some vintage treasures I bought recently from an antique fair. This lovely album of 'bird' cigarette cards...
and I got another card album of wild flower pictures. I love poking round antique fairs and flea markets, it's my favourite kind of shopping, you can get a lot of pleasure from spending a few pounds..
..also bought a bunch of old photographs that will be finding their way onto my cards and artwork.They are so evocative aren't they... I think the one below is my favourite.
Hello again, sorry for disappearing for so long (is anybody still out there?) - I just needed to be in my shell for a while. I'm struggling to come out of it at the moment - moving took more out of us than we thought it would, as have some difficulties we've been dealing with lately. But on the positive side of things, we're all moved now and getting used to being here. It is very peaceful where we are and lovely to be so near to nature. Sparky is having some nice long walks in fields and getting used to seeing so many sheep and rabbits and hearing the geese honking in the field behind us! We have a lovely big garden, which is a bit neglected at the moment and I'm looking forward to spending some time planting and growing - I've never really done much gardening before and don't really know much about it, but I've been doing some reading and I'm excited about having a go at it - I'd love to grow some vegetables and herbs.
We've been doing a bit of decorating too - the last flat we lived in we couldn't paint the walls or even put pictures up and here we can, so I'm really looking forward to living somewhere where we can express ourselves a bit more (the trouble is I'm so impatient I just want it all done!).
My work room is still packed with boxes and all the other crap we can't find room for at the moment - so that is curtailing my creativity a bit as a lot of my materials are still packed away - but Iain's set up a work table in the living room for me for now so I'm making some small things just to keep myself going, like these tags.
Just wanted to say thanks for the comments and emails wishing me well for the move and hoping I was ok as I hadn't blogged for a while - as always, they were much appreciated.xx
Hello there. We're moving house - and to another place - the countryside! Not to the home pictured above, that's a room in my (unfinished) dolls house (although where we're moving too isn't much bigger!) - no, we're moving to a cottage in Shropshire.
It's a time of big change for us - which is why I haven't blogged much recently (not that I'm a very regular blogger) but my posts might be even more sporadic in the weeks to come as we will be busy packing, selling (ebay and car boot sales) and throwing things away as we've got to do some serious downsizing to fit into where we're moving to. There probably isn't going to be much crafting going on - although I have got some valentines cards to make, but I thought I'd try to take some photos of some of my treasures as I pack them away for you to see.
It's also going to mean a change of jobs for me - well, I've actually applied for a job (and got an interview) within the same organisation I work for already (so its more or less the same job) but in Shropshire, and its part-time. If we can make it work financially it will be amazing for me to have more time to spend on my creative work and perhaps even look into selling in some form or other - and of course spend more time on this blog! I have such a lot of creative ideas and projects I want to do and also just things like getting round to putting all of my photos on flickr - and anwser peoples emails and comments! (p.s. thanks for all your lovely comments about the doll - yes Hazel - I did use make-up for her cheeks - just my own blusher).
This move is very important to Iain and I for lots of reasons I won't go into here, but living a simpler life, enjoying nature and making time for our creativity would be like a dream come true for us, and this is what this move represents. I'm not very good at getting excited about things - I'm a bit superstitious like that, but I have to say this feels right - perhaps my wish jar is working after all.
Hello there. These are 19th Century glass buttons, aren't they pretty? They are resting on a lovely drawn threadwork cloth in just the shade of green that I love..
..you can see a bit more of it here and the corner of a lovely piece of lace - its actually a collar/dressfront which I can't wait to use on something. Here, also, is a lovely old tin of buttons...
..these lovely things were my christmas present from my friend Jo, and one of my most favourite christmas presents ever. It's such a thoughtful present, but also it just feels a bit less cynical, or wasteful a present, at a time of year when it can feel a bit like that when buying gifts, especially when you leave it until the last minute and panic buy! I suppose I like it because the things are vintage and 'recycled' if you like (not that I don't appreciate the other 'bought' presents I recieved), and I'll be 'recycling' them into something else as well and that feels positive and creative. I'd love to buy everyone vintage gifts - but I don't think they'd all appreciate it! Without wanting to sound like a really sad person, I don't have a great deal of friends, and Jo is my only really close friend - because it's important to me that a close friend really understands me, and Jo does, which makes this gift all the more touching.
Hello. Promised I'd let you see this doll when she was dressed...
..heres a bit of shoe detail...
Casey asked what I used for her hair..
..sorry to be non-specific but it's just some wool I got from a charity shop but it's been knitted up then frogged so its a bit kinky which makes it look a bit nicer I think.
Hope you like her.
