Thank you

No moaning this week! I'm getting better. Thank you everyone for your 'get well' wishes. Thank you so much to everyone that left a silly joke, and a comment. The jokes have been very funny. I have also had a few rude ones privately e mailed too! All really good fun.

Holly did the honours and picked the winner for my first anniversary of blogging 'giveaway'.......

The winner being Jenny Elkins, which is a really spooky coincidence, as I had mentioned Jenny at the end of my last post. Send your address Jenny and I will pop the Collage in the post to you tomorrow. Thank you to everyone, it's been a real giggle. ~0~

My Mom gave me a beautiful half finished, embroidered, vintage, linen tablecloth yesterday that was duly chopped into and 'repurposed' into a coin purse (oh no, not the coin purses again, I hear you cry. Oh yes, indeedy).

The top of the purse on this side, is the cuff of a beautifully embroidered lace sleeve. Edwardian? So delicate. It just fitted in nicely at the top of the purse and on the other side....

I let the half finished embroidery speak for itself with the help of a massive Mother of Pearl beast of a button.

~0~

I have also made this Collage. Lovely old Statement of Account with a gummed receipt stuck to it and a bright stamp marked 1954. I have applied an original photo of a lady in a long skirt, standing in her doorway. With no details of age or where the photo was taken, it's all left to the imagination.

I printed one of my photos of Daisies onto a piece of ledger paper for the lower half and worked some embroidery over the piece with buttons to finish.Close up of upper half of Collage.

~0~

Then onto this little number. I have made this mixed media piece to enter into our local Shirehall 'Open'. Judging next weekend, so I am hopeful it will be accepted.

It was a real buggar to sew, as I have worked it on a large square of very, very stiff khadi handmade paper, which I will in turn apply to a square boxed canvas. My fingers are skinned and so sore, trying to get a needle through what felt like shoe leather! I tried to use a thimble but it just got in the way.

It's called 'The passage of time'. My sister had given me a collection of old photos, she had come across on her travels, all from the same source and I think the two photos are the same couple. I hope they had a happy life together.

~0~

Our daughter Holly is learning to drive. She is having lessons, but I am going out with her regularly to obviously allow her to get lots of practice. My initial 'TERROR' has given over to a more relaxed state, as she has now become more confident and able. We have a evening routine of driving around our local country lanes, where she can stop and practice reversing and so on.

This is the kind of scenery we drive past......

Turn and look the other way and.....

oh dear..... we are very fortunate and this is a rarety in our area. Insurance job, joy riders? Who knows?

On closer inspection, the patterns the fire has left are incredible

I thought it would make a really interesting subject matter if you were doing say......City and Guilds Embroidery. So much pattern and texture.

Inside the car, front seats.

Swirling patterns.



Oh look you can just see my little car with Holly waiting at the top of the road. She's very patient with her Mother and her strange ways!

Well, at the risk of repeating myself, thank you all my bloggy friends for everything and for stopping by.x

Paper Anniversary

I'm going to get the moaning out of the way now.......I'm poorly (sympathetic ahh please), I have Labyrinthitis (vertigo) ....ugh, vile, nasty thing, go away. I have been reeling around home for ten days now giving the impression I've had one too many sherries (believe me I haven't) and feeling sick as a dog.....ugh. I look appalling! Still anyway, in between feeling sorry for myself and sick, I have tried to keep my mind occupied!
To celebrate what has been a fantastic first year of blogging and if it were a marriage, it would be a 'paper' anniversary, I thought I would make a 'paper' collage for my first 'give away'.
If you fancy this 1916 receipt, which has been 'hens teethed', leave me your silliest joke as a comment (thought that would be fun). I will still put the names in a hat and draw one out next Sunday 19th April. Make 'em clean now ;-) Go on, have a go! (The collage is only small, 5 x 5", wouldn't want to disappoint).~0~
I'm really into making purses at the mo, there are so many ways to embellish. It is also a very good excuse to use fabrics etc. that I have been holding onto for years. The picture below has part of a gorgeously embroidered hanky applied. I have had the hanky years, but I am really happy with how good it looks on this purse.
Front..

Back.. The look which I wanted was like opening a drawer of an old ladies' haberdashery chest, filled with old fabrics, buttons and smelling of moth balls (this doesn't smell of moth balls though). Faded Vintage darling!
I made a custom order for helenandsweetpea . Helen sent me a piece of old french fabric for her purse and a piece of 50's curtaining for Sweet pea's purse. Both worked quite well. Helen was happy.

I made another 'Vintage darling' purse, 'cus I was excited by the first one....both are sold, which is wonderful.

Playing with making greetings cards, but I don't think this one has worked. What do you think?

Onto another Greetings Card. This is a little beauty, lovely old card, 1940's/50's, with the sweetest illustration of a girl looking into a nest full of baby blue birds. Seasonal eh? So I collaged various little pieces of paper and then embroidered over the top, to make a little garden! She really is a sweetie. (Sorry if I'm making you nauseous now!)

On the theme of using one's stash, below I made a purse with the most gorgeous, I think, Crepe de chine Hankerchiefs. Different hanky for each side. Both strong, graphic print, just lovely.

With Art Deco buttons.

~0~

Our family has quite a few occasions over the next month, so I enlisted the help of stripeymonkey . Linda has been absolutely wonderful, she has custom made two stunning pieces of jewellery for me.

The pic below is a small heart Pendant with the letter 'K' stamped. This is for my sister in law's 50th birthday. (She lives in France, I don't think she reads my blog!)

Below is a Christening gift for my newly born neice 'Nina'. Charmingly, beautiful silver bracelet with 'Nina' stamped.



Linda kindly sent these beautiful buttons as a gift for me, she knows a thing or two about me.......thank you Linda, so pleased.

So remember, ditch the High Street Jewellers, buy handmade (as if you needed reminding!)
I will leave you now with Hens Teeth garden spring fleurs.

Oh, I nearly forgot, one of my dear bloggy friends is in need of some morale support, if you have time, please pop over the jennyelkins and have a read of a very pertinent issue :-)

Thank you so much for stopping by.x

Happy Spring time

Happy Spring time, well for some of us it is and what a magical time of year it is! I personally feel I have come out of a long, dark tunnel into the glimmering light. I do adore Spring, around Easter time is so lovely.
I wanted to tell you about this beautiful papier mache brooch I received from my old friend
tracy of Boboho. Tracy used to Lecture at the College where I now work, she taught me! She now lives in Denmark and has the most wonderful blog and website. Thanks so much Tracy!
I was very happy earlier in the week to purchase this beautiful old Bernina. The machine I have been using for the last few years has never filled it's side of the bargain...looping, puckering, tension a total mystery, very, very aggravating. So I took a chance and purchased this reconditioned Bernina. Oh joy, oh heaven, oh bliss, it is divine. The quality of the machine and the ease in which it purrs along. Mental note : never ever buy a low end machine again. Save, save, save and buy a sewing machine worth owning. Even though this beauty may be a little aged, she still has plenty of 'go' in her and so fresh with excitement of said new/old machine, I have been a makin'......

( By the way, I must say, I have updated my Etsy store, put this post together and will pop a few pics on Flickr and I'm sure I shall have entered old age! Does'nt it take time to do these jobs?)

Anyway, below is a piece I have made using a 1950's magazine advert for Helena Rubinsten. It's a bit odd, as the very attractive lady has a bird house for a hat. Well why not, anything went in the 50's. She is being entertained by a very sweet little birdy, who is just on the page. I managed to print with some beautiful wooden fonts too! The bird and birdhouse are appliqued and I had a little go with my new old machine with the leafy viney thing.

Motoring away with felt and vintage lace for a flowery corsage.

And another....

Really enjoyed revisiting my crochet Pendant designs, below.

The flowers are felt again, with a Liberty Lawn flower backing the middle and the buttony goodness of the crocheted necklace just sets it all off.

I have made this type of pendant before but this one is much larger. Double row of crochet buttons and I have used a crocheted doily and turned it into a heart pendant.

The base for this piece is a 1920's Daily Mirror Insurance Policy. Really enjoyed using the various wooden types and again I have added a 2D handmade bird. Embroidery added here and there. The bird looks like it is just passing through, not at all interested in whats going on.

Well that's me done for now, thank you for all your support and for stopping by.x