Love & Magic!

I'm kind of in love right now.... and the most JOY-full of that "love" feeling is that is doesn't need to make sense in the slightest..... Now there's an opening sentence :)

I've been wanting to make some animal heads for a long time now, but couldn't quite get MY head around the fact that fake/fabric or not I would be creating something based on the idea that a dead animal head was going on a wall.... ick!
That was until active imagination stepped in (hallelujah!), and suggested that in actual fact the head belongs to a very much alive and  magical  (of course!) animal , who peeps in from some sparkly realm bringing with it a magical quality to bestow on the home it finds itself in.
Well....Yes! When you put it like that I can TOTALLY jump on board that creative adventure!

So let me introduce to you the new obsession  love  in my life......my "forest friends"...... *sigh*
This is Bernadette, bestower of the magical quality FUN and playfulness...

 Little Doe......I really do love her..... and the magical quality of Innocence that she brings.

And Mumma Bear Mathilde...who's magic carries the qualities of nurturing and comfort.....

I have begun something I cannot stop...... Love indeed :)

xx

Clay pieces

It would be wrong not to return after the last post with more samples of where my creative rumblings have been taking me....I have been having sooo much fun!

(and thankyou all so much who left a comment and shared...so heart warming to know I am not alone!)

In between the framing , final touches and invitations for my exhibition in 6 days(eek!), I've been finding relaxation and calm through these tiny pieces....some of which have ended up in my little shop..and some which sold within minutes of placing them in my little shop (wowzer!).

I sewed the ribbon part of this piece as I watched "The hobbit, an unexpected adventure"..it was quite without intention but made me smile ALOT on realising :)

I'm so looking forward to sharing some of the new pieces I've created for my little show,next week...but first I am off on a well earned jolly with my little sis and mum for the weekend to Glasgow!Yipee. Hope the sun is shining where ever you are :)xx

snippets...

hmm so whats been going on here this last week....
well my wee solo exhibition is getting closer and I fluctuate from feeling calm and organised (or atleast my version of it), to overwhelmed and fraudulent! Its definitely a good lesson in exercising  those paltry self worth muscles I tend to sport!
Above is the front of the little flier/invitation I created which is off to the printers....alas..I realise now I've forgotten to include the opening times...ne'er mind...don't imagine many people will be hammering down the door at 9am, clamouring to get in!

So I'll share some sneaky peaks of what is going to join me on my adventures in paint and stitch! (some of which you have already seen on facebook, apologies!).... these butterfly wings are going to belong to an animal other than a butterfly..but I shall keep you guessing for now. 

The desire to experiment with this dense hand embroidery alongside other mediums has somewhat dampened since beginning...but hours and hours of stitching the brittle canvas and shredded fingers would do that I guess!..I'm 12 hours into the wings in the photo above.....

You've seen the damask design I was working on  here..which is now finished, yay! and this is another little peak at more embroidery on rock hard canvas ..can you feel my pain!?  :)

I'll be including freehand machine pieces too....an assortment of animals and people. All this snow has had me dreaming of summer...                                                        

The one below won't be accompanying me..but I have a particular fondness to it..its called "the reluctant superhero's!"

Aka...me and my little one :)

Hope you all have a lovely easter holiday xx

The makings of a wedding album

I've finally finished a long overdue promise...a wedding album for the dearest and most adorable couple. I'm very biased of course, having seen the beautiful bride grow from a little girl...but also knowing the trials these 2 have been through made me feel very blessed and priviledged indeed, to get to make them something special.

I did spend most of the time wanting to squidge those gorgeous wee cheeks of theirs ...but that just heightens even more, how old I  feel now that the little girl is big enough to get married!

So.....the makings of a wedding album....

Of course begins with two dear hearts very much in loooove....

A mixture of textures, vintage linen , mixed with broderie anglais and tilda fabric.... keeping it pale with a splash of my "go to colour" blue/turquoise. I've started stitching on applique "leafy swirly bits"  for the background to capture the trees  and the setting they were married in.

The spine of the book is stitched in place, and all the fabric pieces of the background are sewn together. More appliqued leafy swirly bits have been added ... and of course the glowing bride and groom!

I added a little bit of blue watercolour to the background so you could see the dress better...there's a little bit of leakage but that's ok!

More water colour added and hand embroidered details too (LOVING the kilt!)......now we're ready to attach this whole piece to thick board to make the front and back cover..and then bind in the pages.

I promise to share the binding and cardboard sticking some other time ..it's the messy and not very pretty stage (and where I didn't have enough hands to carry out AND take photos!)

I look forward to handing this over, knowing that its going to be filled with some real treasured moments.

And now it only seems fitting to end with a proper "awwww" inducing moment....

how is this for love...the groom completely designed, sewed and made the bride's dress! swoon :)xx

Pip!

 It's such a treat to have our computer back up and running...it appears that computers are not immune to the lurgy either!
So after a new hard drive, several lost photos and many lessons learned.. I'm returning with a friend...

Pip is his name, and he came about over the Christmas holidays when I decided to indulge in the "creating of things I never normally turn my hand to ,but have always quite fancied!"

He's a gentle soul despite his inadvertent "pirate-y" appearance. Pip genuinely lost an eye in his making....one day I left him sitting on my desk with 2 eyes ready to be stitched...to return the next day with one missing!

One of these days, I get the feeling a lone eye will 

turn up in some random place and I'll wonder what the heck I've stumbled across...hopefully Pip will have placed himself in an obvious position with his remaining beady eye fixed on me as a reminder!

The long and short of recent days...

Ooh sounds like I'm away to say something quite profound (or atleast slightly interesting!) with a title like that! However it's actually my little attempt at a "play on words" , as I've been sewing sewing sewing... Long and short stitch to be more specific! ...well at least my version of it! :)

I started just after Christmas, and it's been the perfect winter evening companion as I settle for the latter part of the evening (after my "creative stint" when the youngest is in bed) And is part of an experiment I'm working on for the solo exhibition  I have coming up in May!(notice the faux nonchalance at just dropping that little bombshell  into the conversation hehe!)

Its a rather large undertaking ..(yes the solo exhibition AND this canvas) 

The brocade designs I'm stitching are a decent size,as you can see.. the crown alone took me 1 1/2 hours. However being a kind of "make-it-up-as-you-go-along-kind-of-girl"  my version is perhaps not as quick as it could be (or neat and tidy for that matter!)

But I'm really enjoying the quiet and timely process of it.. and maybe come spring it'll be done :) 

Do you have a little winter project on the go that keeps you busy on these long dark nights?I'd love to hear x