My Weblog

Who's in here ?

Tap tap tap...open up !

Hello Ladybird , who else is with you ?

Ah, it's Amabella Bunny, Little Rebecca the baby bunny, and Angelina Bird.

Spring has finally arrived - yippee !  so they are going on a picnic.

Hurry Mama - open the basket !

We're hungry !

Yum, bread and cheese (made by Molly) and fizzy pop.

And now it's time to go back home. Bye bye.

This set was commissioned for a little girl named Amabella. Allegedly. I suspect it was Amabella's Mummy who wanted it really - right Rebecca ?

That's one of the lovely things about having a daughter, you can FORCE them to have things that YOU like.  : )

I plan on making boxed sets like this occasionally. I've also been making baby quilts, children's scarves and bags, and have some new softies in the pipeline, all of which 'll be selling here on my blog soon,( when I get my arse into gear )

I'm unable to take any more commissions for the boxed sets at the moment, the children are about to start their Easter holidays therefore I am going to be stressed RIGHT OUT for the next few weeks, but do e-mail me if you are interested after Easter.

Have a Fandabidozi * weekend everybody !

* That little schoolboy is actually a grown woman - what a FANTASTIC job !

Springy things.

Things I like today

Everything here - look at the little bunny knitted baby-grows, how sweet !

Do you fancy having a cup of tea here anyone ? drinking it out of this ?

Everything here. And here.

These beautiful monoprints by Catherine Chambers.

The sheep and the bunny here.

Cute city here ( I think I've linked to this before, but there are some new cuties, and it's worth a second look anyway ).

This stuff.

And just to confirm Spring has finally arrived, look here.

Her bag is packed

and we're ready to go.

Contents...

One grey kitty

One bunny for Harvey

Pink game boy

Sweeties

Colouring crayons and drawing book.

Molly and I are leaving the boys behind, and taking a trip to London.

We shall be spending money in here , here ,and the wonderful Hello Kitty shop. And maybe we'll have time to visit here, to squeeze in a cocktail or two for Mummy and cousin Abi.

It'll probably look like the house has been burgled when we get back, but it'll be worth it.

Have a great weekend !

Faces

Having fun with faces.

Faces I'm liking to be found  here  here  here  here  here, and this one here made me laugh out loud ( sorry Adelaide).

Molly, now aged 6. She says thank you for the Happy Birthday wishes last week.

She looks cute, but after this conversation recently, I pity the fool who falls for her.

Molly . "When I'm grown up, I'm going to live in a cottage with twin boys and twin girls and lots of  kittens and 'I' won't mind tidying up after them" (Bit of a dig at me there).

Me.   "That sounds lovely, can I come and live with you ?"

Molly. " No. You'll be old and dead ".

Me. " Oh. What about a husband ? Are you going to get married ?"

Molly. "Do I have to ? "

Me.  " Ummm, well...."

Molly. - Huffy sigh - " OH ALRIGHT THEN , but he's got to be kind and gentle to my children, and he's got to do EVERYTHING I say ".

The poor bugger. I think I'll tell him to run. Fast.

My e-mail is down again, if I haven't replied to anybody, I apologise. Hopefully, all will be well again later today. xxx

Once upon a time..

I used to be a grown up, and do grown up things (-ish)

 

A few years ago, when my two youngest children were very small. I signed up for an evening art course to stop myself from going completely and utterly insane.

It wasn't this art course .

The art course I'm talking about , was the polar opposite of that art course.

This one was run by Judy Hempstead, who is a very popular local artist. That fact that she is a successful artist, I feel, is one of the reasons this class was so enjoyable, not only did we gain from her vast experience and knowledge, but also she was there because she 'liked' to teach, not 'had' to teach.

This class was a lot of fun. It consisted mainly of mothers with young children who were desperate to get out of the house (we all used to lie to our husbands, and say the class started earlier than it did - just to escape), and a couple of brave blokes who obviously weren't easily scared.

Trips to the local village pub were often involved to continue our intellectual conversations about art (?), and we all passed the exam with flying colours.

I learnt that art and craft are one and the same thing, and never ever to take myself seriously. The niciest thing about Judy, is that if she took a look at the daft little creatures I enjoy making these days, she would approve whole-heartedly.

The above images are from a silk wallhanging I made for part of my coursework, inspired by Paul Klee.

I'd forgotten how much I enjoy silk painting, the colours are so vivid and transulucent, something that doesn't really show up in the photos, because there is still no sign of Spring and the light is CRAP.

I might have to dig those paints out, and have some more fun with them.

Hope you have a happy fun weekend too.

: )

Bracelet tutorial

Sew together thin strips of fabric to roughly these dimensions.

You can make your piece longer if you want to make lots of bracelets, this size will make four.The width is about right to fit most wrists.

Cut a piece of stiff backing fabric to the same size, and then pin, wrong sides together.

Cut a 6" x 0.5" (15 x 1cm) inch strip of card, pin to your fabric, and then stitch around it.

Alternatively, if you don't want to bother with a template, just mark out your lines with a ruler and a 'vanishing ink' pen, see below.

Use whatever stitch takes your fancy.

Next, cut close to your stitching line, and then gently fray the edges.

Gather together your bits and bobs, and let your creativity run wild and free.

Sew a button (without a shank, so it sits tight to the fabric) at one end, and a length of braid at the other. To fasten, just wind the braid around the button, firmly, several times.

Dah dah !

Now I have to go shopping for my little girl's birthday tomorrow. What could possible be nicer than shopping for little girls ?

Pink and sparkly - here I come.

Bracelet

made from scraps of fabric

and odds and sods on my desk

Just a strip of patchworked fabrics (is patchworked a word ?), with things sewn on. I'll post a tutorial next week if anyone wants me to, it's very easy.

In the meantime, HAPPY FRIDAY !

Yippeeeeeee

Yeeee- ha

Woooo-hoo

etcetera.

: )

Spring ?

I wish I could say Spring was making an appearance, but it's dark and rainy here in Devon, and the only bunnies to be seen are on the front of books.

Cotton & Paint vol 23, available at Kitty's , I can't find it on e-bay, but I have just come across my all time favourite here.

Bunny purse .The sunshine isn't here, it's in the photograph sadly.

Sweet little birds, not as adorable and original as Alicia's ,

but I do like the happy washing line.

These are another thing to put on my 'to-do' list, I slop around the house in a pair of scruffy sandals and Phil's socks - very attractive.

Crocheted mobile.

Appliqued journal

pretty bags

happy cat

cute purses

little dog with hat and back-pack

and animal skittles - are any of us ever going to have the time to make animal skittles ?

Lots of projects in here, so a great magazine.

Mooo

I've been a busy bunny this week, the children are back at school, so I've actually got some things done . How anyone manages to craft if they home-school is beyond me, home-schooling is rare in England, which is probably just as well in my case. I think my children would need therapy in their adult lives, if ever I decided to do it. Which I won't.

Anyway, first I made some flower brooches for Kerrie's new shop - scroll down to her Feb 25th entry for details. I shall be visiting soon because it sounds lovely.

I used some of my precious Oilily fabrics for these, they were great fun to put together - the more the colours clash , the better.

Next up, a little cow made from one of Molly's cotton velvet dresses ( which she refused to wear)

Her body was made from one piece, and I didn't stuff her arms or legs, so she's all soft and squishy.

I like her cute backside.

She's going to Siow Chin, in exchange for the latest cotton & paint magazine, which I'll be posting about next week. Thank you Siow Chin, although you shouldn't be reading this, because I told you NOT to peek !

To reward myself, for actually getting some work done, I've been doing some intensive web trawling, so if you have some time to indulge yourself, look here at the lovely pin badges, here for some sweet illustrations and fabric postcards, and here for some random eye candy, the third section down has some lovely packaging ideas.

Have fun, and a great weekend !

Some days..

it's all about colour.

The beautiful colours of Frannie, who was destined to sit on my sofa.

Look here to see more of Sweetnellie's wonderful creatures, that are so original and full of charm.

Next, my new favourite colour combination...

Chocolate,orange and aqua .

These beautiful packages were from Marion , I seriously didn't want to open these - they were too pretty, but when I did...

there was a gorgeous apron and matching mouse ( eeek, so sweet ! ), plus a very cute monster, I love his cheeks and hair.

Also this wonderful sticker book - illustrated by Marion,

Molly obviously loves it, I haven't allowed her to play with the stickers yet though- aren't I an awful Mother ! 

Take a look here for more of Marion's fun, quirky and fantastic work.

We've also been enjoying

the whiteness of Dartmoor on a snowy day. Where you have to do an awful lot of walking, to burn off the classic colour combination of this.  Unless you want a very big bottom. 

Ahem.