Another Baboushka

It really is quite addictive making these ornaments.  The best part is choosing the face and then the felt, thread and sequins accordingly.

This little lady looks a bit pensive.  She has a touch of the Frida Kahlo about her eyebrows and expression to me.

I like how the sequins catch the light.  I am getting to like sparkle more and more.............

Baboushka Decoration

I made a tree decoration using a lovely glass face cabochon.  I made her up as I went along but think that next time I make one I will put a lot more planning into the decoration.

There is so much enjoyment to be had from using a needle, thread and beads.

I am itching to get on and make another one as I have a stack of felt and faces to choose from. Deciding the colours is the hardest part!

Card Making in February

This card took hours to make today!  Hopefully it should be easy to replicate now I have the formula for making it. 

I took a printed picture and then made a die-cut frame for it using an inner and and outer die.  I then put the card frame into an embossing folder and ran it through the manual die cut/embossing machine.  I die cut a few flowers.

A white card blank was stamped with flower stamps and a sentiment.  I then assembled the card and added some colored gems.

Card Making in January

My life has taken a busy detour just now so I am unable to blog as often as usual.  My 'free' time is constrained so I am taking advantage of spare time at the weekends to enjoy making cards or other 'mindless' activities purely for enjoyment.

I used various techniques to produce the cards above and am pleased with their simplicity.

Christmas Cards in October

I hate seeing Christmas stuff in the shops so early but it is a reminder for me to crack on with cards if I want to have them ready in time for Christmas.  Each year I leave it too late and end up rushing them and not enjoying the process.  Today I thoroughly enjoyed making my 'Lords-a -Leaping' frog card and spending time colouring and fussy cutting him out after stamping.

I made the goose card yesterday.  You can't see the Merry Christmas very well in the picture but it is heat embossed in silver and looks good in natural daylight.

Here is a close up of the feet and eggs enhanced by a little bit of strategically placed glitter.

Organising Paper Craft Scraps

Although I made a start on organising my craft supplies earlier in the year, I came to a standstill and never finished the job.  The task was so daunting that I put it to the back of my mind.  In the bedroom there is a huge laundry bag full of over spill from the craft room blocking one of the fitted wardrobes.  Today I decided to sort out that bag once and for all!

I used Ziploc bags to categorise my card and paper scraps into colour families.

This will make it so much easier to see what I have before buying any more paper stock.

I have grouped them as blue, purple, pink, red, green, yellow, orange, brown, neutral, black and metallic.  Later on I can sub divide them further but feel that is a good start.

Thank you for the messages and suggestions yesterday.  In the evening I watched Last Night at the Proms on the t.v rather than the usual X-factor or Strictly Come Dancing.  I found the music moving and rousing and it lifted my low mood.  I slept well ( no nightmares for once) and woke up feeling in a good frame of mind.  Also, I have found a project that I can't wait to start but will leave that to talk about another time.  Sorting and having a tidy up really does bring me clarity of thought.

Sorry the photos are unclear today.  Probably forgot to use macro on the camera!

Making Paper Bows

I checked my diary and apart from one torrential but short lived downpour of rain, the last six weeks have been hot, hot, hot, humid, oppressive and a complete hell hole!  I wish I could be one of those laid back characters who go with the flow and embrace the heat, but when your house feels like a furnace and the fans just blow hot air I feel as though I am going to combust.  It has been difficult to keep my bad mood in check and I am best left alone.

When I need to go to the shops I make sure to get out early and then get back into the house.  I have kept the curtains drawn (in the rooms where we have them) and tried to keep still as movement makes me feel nauseous and even hotter. Happily, I hear that the heatwave is going to break today.  I know that with the rain the humidity will increase but I can tolerate that one more night if we are rewarded with fresher air tomorrow.

I can't concentrate in the heat as my brain feels as though it is being cooked!  I lack productivity and get frustrated at wasting my time.  Yesterday and today, for fear of wasting any more time, I sat quietly at the dining room table and made some simple paper bows.  Satisfying and constructive to do I believe it was the catalyst I needed to get me out of a funk.

The Finished Cards and Tags

This is my penultimate post before the BIG ONE!!!

Tags or Card Toppers

My intention was to make these into tags but now I am thinking that they could be used as card toppers?  I am not sure yet.  May have to let this one sit a while.

 

These were time consuming to make as I had to stick sheet music onto card stock, die cut and then look through my crafty stash to see what embellishments I could use.  I fussy cut some bird papers and mounted onto card, picked out individual paper flowers and stickers and then enhanced a few areas with glitter.

I am pretty pleased how they turned out.

Floral Tags

I put aside some time to make some pretty floral tags.  They still need to have their ties threaded through but I am undecided on ribbon or twine or even both!

I enjoy the assemblage of making these tags.  I can relax my mind when I am stress free crafting.  It is fun putting them together and picking out which embellishments to use.  Such a shame that most people just throw the tags in the bin after use!  I think they could be used as a classy way of labelling boxes or old leather suitcases used to store love letters of the past...............

Frog Fun in February

 Sometimes we have to make our own fun.

 Sloshing ink around on shaving foam and printing paper is fun.

 The outcome is unpredictable and if you don't like the results you can do it again!

The printed papers said 'frog' to me.  They are very clever! So I made a frog and turned him into an interesting bookmark.

I think he is rather cute and like the way he hangs down on the back of the page.

Knowing When to Stop Making for the Craft Fair

I am having a bit of a crisis of confidence.  I am panicking that I won't have enough of anything for the craft fair so I am looking for quick and easy makes.  I think this is probably unwise.   The bracelet above was made from a kit.  I am quite pleased how it turned out (it matches the necklace in a previous post) but the jump rings do not close perfectly. I pay a lot of  attention to detail and things like this really annoy me and so the bracelet may not make the fair. 

I found a great tutorial on YouTube about craft fair makes that showed how to turn paper clips into something more interesting by adding pom poms.  I had the materials handy so I had a go.  When I showed my son he said they look like they come from Pound Land!  He has a point.  I don't suppose these will be coming to the event either!

I like these.  I think there will always be room for tiny cards.

Another Necklace and Jewellery Presentation Idea

Another make for the craft fair completed.  A ten strand glass peacock bead necklace - each bead strung by hand.  It took me a full day!

I've been experimenting with presentation for my various makes.  I am so happy to combine my love of paper craft by making the boxes for pendants.  The above box is a prototype.

The display card can be used to present the item and then laid down flat in the drawer to pack away for the purchaser.  So many things to make and so little time for sleep.  It is soooooooo good to be happily busy.

Enjoy the weekend!

Creating Without Purpose

It is so liberating to create without the end having to justify the means.  For so long I have tried to find ways of raising an income by making things.  I have now decided to put that on the back burner and concentrate on being creative for the sake of it without the pressure of money being the end goal.  I feel like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders.

Because I don't have a paid job I have felt guilty having so many creative hobbies.  I thought that if I could combine doing what I love with receiving an income then I couldn't be accused of time wasting.  From now on I am going to create for me even though it may be perceived as being selfish.  If I could get any income from doing the things I love it will be the icing on the cake, but I am not going to live a life of regret not doing what makes me happy even if it doesn't bring home a wage.

These last few weeks I have felt lighter and happier (despite being back on the sugar again)!  I play with paint, I stick things down, cut things out, collage and doodle 'til my heart's content.  By concentrating on my own happiness I believe that it is having a positive influence on those closest to me.  I may even get back to baking cakes again.............!!!

Did You Guess Correctly?

I made myself a dinky little pincushion from the fabric and curtain ring in the previous post.  It was such a fun project and I may write up a tutorial for it if I get requests to do so.  I think it would sell well at craft fairs (if you get the right kind of fair!)

Today I have one of my monkey mind days.  Should I embark on some machine sewing, or do some fabric printing or a follow a further painting lesson in my Carrie Schmitt  book, or even take another look at the felt animals and see if I can get around the problems I was having making them?

For now I think I will take a deep breath, have some breakfast and see how the mood takes me afterwards.  Do you have any advice on how to tame a monkey mind or resist jumping from one project to another?  Sometimes I feel quite exhausted!

Have a great day!

Bear Making

Thank you for all the Birthday wishes in my last post.  It was a day of sunshine and showers!  I spent part of the day looking at my new book on making felt animals.  With so many animals to choose from; squirrels, rabbits, moles, mice - I opted to make a bear!

After transferring the pattern to felt I have carefully cut the pieces out.  I am opting to hand sew the bear but depending on how I progress may use the sewing machine if I make other animals.  I don't think this will be an easy make as there are things like cotter joints involved in the making!

I have never made a jointed toy before and feel quite excited in doing something 'grown up'.  I will be forever the child in getting pleasure in the newness of  experiencing something different.

More Wood Block Stamping

I have been a little preoccupied with making Christmas cards.  I really want to finish up making them now as I want to move on to other things (as usual!) The cards above are small 4 x 4 inches and ideal to pop into the doors of my neighbour's who hopefully appreciate handmade things.  It is a sad fact that many people that I know would rather have something mass produced and 'perfect' rather than a little rustic quirkiness!

A busy week lies ahead with trying to straighten the house out for Christmas and putting up the tree, finding out more about Vedic astrology, applying to go on a Television show (don't ask!) and if I get time - to do some embroidery on paper.  There is always so much to learn and do.

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Every day the news seems to get more horrific, shocking and ugly.  My antidote to this is to immerse myself with creating beauty and focusing on things that make me happy.  If I am happy then perhaps it will rub off on those around me.  Let us refuse to be dragged down into the mire! 

Wishing you all happy days ahead - Spring WILL come again and summer too.  Close your eyes and imagine a sweetly scented breeze, fluffy white clouds, bees buzzing and buds bursting forth!  Feel better now? :-)

A Crafty Christmas

It would be so easy to pop to the shops and buy a pack of Christmas cards.  In fact, that is what I usually do.  This year though, I am going to endeavour to make as many of my own cards as I can (I will still be using shop bought too:-)

Inspired my my lovely new set of wood block stamps, I created background papers using up paints in my stash and recycling old papers, writing, music sheets etc.  I then used acrylic paint to print the message and added some glitter.  I cut around the images and stuck them onto linen card stock.

As a fan of the clean and simple style of cards I am quite happy to leave a lot of white space around the central image.

Well, I'd best crack on now.  I hope your week is going well.

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In the Groove at the Grove

I am feeling much more in the groove again here at Linden Grove!  Bombarded with a huge dose of ugliness in the World recently via the media and tragic events happening locally too, I have retreated into my inner World of beauty, calm and sanctuary.  No one can touch that place.

As I am drawn to beauty, we can never have enough beauty can we? I indulged myself with an early Christmas gift of the most exquisitely crafted hand made Indian wooden blocks.  These new blocks have opened up so many possibilities for me.  Not only will I be able to use them for paper crafting but for textile printing too.  The blocks are so tactile and as I ink them up and press down on them I am thinking of the skilled worker that produced such a wonderful work of art.

I still love my polymer stamps but use them for a different type of creating.  Stamping with these wooden blocks takes me to another place.  I doubt I will ever visit India but feel as though the spirit of India has visited me. 

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Making and Learning

I made some earrings earlier in the week perfecting the mobius link and using up some of my darker coloured Herkimer quartz gem stones.  I tend to use making things as a distraction to other things going on in my life.  It gives me 'time out' and something else to focus on.

I 'pulled' the post on my doll collection that I posted a few days ago as I didn't think it really fitted with the rest of my blog.  I am not even sure if I should keep this post up as it is not one of my finer photographs but then again life isn't always perfect as it has been demonstrated to me this week.

The last few days have been very unsettling for many reasons that I can't go in to here.  It is all salvageable problems though and hopefully over the next few weeks life will settle back down again.

Aah, the peaks and troughs of life. 

Here's hoping that the week ahead is just a gentle plateau.

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