Visitor

We have had a new guest come to stay with us (for a short time, I hope) today. Her name is Butterfly Hugly and she insisted that I follow her around for the day and take a few snaps of her (she's very vain). She fancies herself as a super model.
So here goes......
We have a little garden pose going on here, she's doing the 'America's Next Top Model' thing!"I'm ready for my close up now, Mr. Deaville".
In my work room, telling me what to do and how to do it? She can be such a b.....!

Daisy is made to cuddle up (Daisy does not want to cuddle up, as can be seen from poor sad little me expression).
Typing a letter to her fans.

Lunch just about to be served ~ Gordan Ramsey has popped over to rustle something up, bless him. He does'nt swear in her company either. Feeling a little sluggish, so just a bit of exercise. She's a slave to it!
Too much exercise, so a rest infront of the box. She's having a fag break really.
Posing again, nothing it too much trouble for her art.
An afternoon by the pool.
The day finishes with a glass of red, (but no photos of that by me), as it happens, she got a bit merry and made a fool of herself. (She tumbled! The 'Paps' got it though. I think it will probably be in 'Heat' Magazine next Tuesday, the tumble that is).

Anyway, thank goodness, she has moved on now and left us, in a right old mess too, I can tell you, not so much as a 'thank you' either. Her new address ~ Etsy.com ~ so if you fancy having a 'Diva' come to stay, pop over and say 'Hello darling, sweetie', in a posh voice ;-)

A few more lovely blogs to take a looksy at :http://paulahewitt.wordpress.com/

and http://robruhn.blogspot.com/ and http://ginaferrari.blogspot.com/

Thanks for stopping by x

Blogalicious

I have had a good day today. I think I probably speak for most of us here.....but it never ceases to amaze me how many wonderful blogs and associated sites there are for us all to enjoy. I could stay glued to the puter 24/7 but that would be sad now, would'nt it???? Can't you get some sort of computer fixation disorder? I can see how it happens.

If you have a mo take a look at these new (to me) blogs that I have found over the last few days.

http://fancypicnic.blogspot.com/ and http://mimiloveforever.blogspot.com/
and http://fromthecraftroom.blogspot.com/ and http://vermontharvest.blogspot.com/ and http://artpropelled.blogspot.com/
Good ehh?

Anyway......... recent items I've made :
New needlecase listed on Etsy ~ It's a sweet little thing taken from a letter card I purchased from that musty dusty bookshop I was telling you about.

This needlecase below ~ listed today on Etsy but sold pretty much straight away! Then we have these doggy friends.

One collaged one thrown into the mix.
And another of our faithful friends.
I have started to also upload a few of my items onto what looks like a great new site. Charlotte of http://fancypicnic.blogspot.com blogged about it www.folksy.com is the name and by the looks of it ...it will be one to watch. Take a look at Charlotte's blog for more info.

Thanks for stopping by x

Elbow ~ Mirrorball

I have just spent 30 minutes trying to get a link to a piece of music on Youtube that I wanted to share with you...but obviously without success. I would not usually want to go down the music road on a blog but this song sends me goosey. If you fancy taking at look on Youtube and typing in Elbow ~ the song being mirrorball, it's taken from their album Seldom seen kid . I'm sure you would'nt be sorry. http://uk.youtube.com/ (I'm probably preaching to the converted here)!

Meet Mrs. Worsey

The days are fleeing ~ my long summer break is whizzing by at top speed, so I am trying to make the very best of the time off and produce something each day....... Ideas and inspirations I have floating around in the old grey stuff ~ it is so good to test them out.

So here is one of those ideas ~ Mrs. Worsey is one of the drawings that I did, inspired by the wonderful primitive art I have discovered. I have hand drawn her along with her pet crow named 'Robin' on tracing paper, which I have sewn onto one of my collaged envelopes. They have beads for eyes which has given them both a rather menacing .......or is it a vacant stare?
I adore the qualities of tracing paper ~ how you can see some parts of the collage very well and other parts are quite milky.





In my constant search for ephemera, I have found a really, really, really wonderful musty, Dickensian type bookshop at Presteigne. Rammed to the rafters with books and postcards. It is an honesty shop too, you browse and collect your would be purchases and then go down the street with items in hand to pay! A total joy!
We visited again this weekend gone and here are a few of my finds:

Hand turned wooden vessel and natural jute string (not from bookshop :-) Both lovely finds from our day out.
These are my girls. I have had them exactly two years and each day has been a pleasure. We chat and exchange lots of time together. They also shout at me when they think it's time to be let into the garden! Betty is'nt here, she has gone broody on me again and is sitting on imaginary eggs for endless hours.
This is the view from my back door and I stepped out earlier and the summer glimmering and glistening just hit me. So I tried to take a photo to capture the moment. Of course, it's the atmosphere which is the trick to catch!!!
My mom and dad stopped by for a bit of lunch today and mom had bought these for me from a car boot yesterday. Lots of lovely stamps dated 1990 ....... 18 years ago ........eeeek. She had also sorted the buttons out from her own collection. The small brown ones, we think are a child's boot buttons.

Back to a few more shots of my purchases at Presteigne. Very pleased with a late 1800s ledger. I can hardly read the script but it's very beautiful.
Gorgeous marbelling on the ledger.
Sweet little postcards.....birdy ones.

Well I have managed to ramble on all over the place with this post. Not much continuity or rhyme or reason, but anyway, thanks for stopping by x

Cat love

The postman bought me a package of happiness the other day. I had ordered these patterns from USA and I felt like a child at Christmas I was so consumed with excitement.
And this what I made from one of the patterns with a few changes. Taken from a www.lakeviewprimitives.com pattern. Inspired by http://www.primitive-folk-art.com/2008/07/22/primitive-folk-art-sisters/ I really enjoyed glupping the coffee stain and baking in the oven ~ as the cat is filled with sawdust and dusted with cinnamon the kitchen smelt rather nice. You should have seen my husband's face when I announced I was popping this sawdust filled item in the oven at 200 degrees. (He does'nt 'get' this cat either).


You can't see from the photo but he has a stick for a tail. I've got quite a lot of experimenting to do with these patterns but I adore the simplicity of them and the history that goes with primitive art.
Thanks for stopping by x

I had to do it

Three blogs in one day.....Mmmmm. Sorry everyone but I had to pop outside and try and get better pics for you to see just what I have been going on about;-) So here we are:

Told you I had been busy!

These soldered pendants are really rewarding to make. Thought I would get a bit of our four legged friend featured on some of them.
And below:
Absolutely dreadful photos of a needlecase I made today. I had to show it to you now before I tried some better photography because I am so pleased with it (big headed so and so, I know). I did my usual stuff to an envelope and then magic....ed a copy into a needle case with a few embroidery stitches to finish. It may not look much but it's the feel of it! It's such a nice size, it just fits in your hand like a lovely flat purse with lots of detail to really look into it. Sorry to bang on about my own stuff, but I am really chuffed! Hopefully better photos coming up. So much to do, so little time ;-)

Mrs. Hen is very busy.

Once again, thank you to everyone who has visited and particularly those of you who have left such thoughtful and lovely comments. Every single comment is very much appreciated. I have been a working all day again and I have so many things to upload I need a day just for that, but a bit at a time will do.
I enjoyed working with Mrs. Hen here, she is such a sweetie that I wanted to do something with her. I do adore gingham, particularly red for some reason.

Now for a change of tack, this is another idea that I have had. To try and be a little more different and unique with the glass soldered pendants, I came up with paper cutting. Ideal really as you only have a fine piece of paper to sandwhich. My other pendants, being collaged, are more difficult to work. I like the way the light goes through the design and how it could be used to hang in a window aswell as being a pendant. Nightmare to photograph though!!!
I have more to show you and hopefully will post more this evening. (The ironing, oh the ironing, it's like a little devil sitting on my shoulder, saying "fancy doing your arty farty stuff, when your husband needs an ironed shirt").
Thanks for stopping by x