TGIF "green"

For my vegetable garden I have prepared the soil with compost, manure & dead leaves so its just a case of waiting till the ground warms up before planting!! I thought I better record all this so made myself a garden journal. I have used green Memento dye ink pad which also works great on fabric sheeting!! Added some buttons, painted fabric and threads.

My crochet bag for Wed stamper "bags"

I need a bag for my crochet needles.. I havent learned to crochet yet but that is my next task. There is a good tutorial on Threadbangers (dont you just love that name!). I wanted to combine knitting with stamped fabric and material for a change. I have quickly knitted a little bag in shades of brown then stamped one of my fav stampington images of a vintage girl. I have put this on scraps of fabric and added wool and buttons. I have been asked how to stamp on fabric so the best inkpad to use is black Versacraft and you need to stamp it on some fine material like sheeting to get a clear image.

I would love to go to Prague (travel round the world swap)

This month the theme was Prague in the travel round the world swap hosted by Katrin. I would love to go to Prague - perhaps when all my kids are older we will go. This uses loads of layers as usual...I just love texture and my sewing machine at the moment! It includes stamped tuscan rose image, stamped acetate, burnt greaseproof paper, strips of layered material and a scrap of painting on silk all sewn on. Now to send it off to Kily in Germany once I find her address!

check out my new stuff in my etsy shop

I have added 2 fabric collage little art bags with painting prints of my "along came a blackbird" and "butterfly dreams" paintings. Now you can carry a little piece of my art with you wherever you go!! I have added a currency converter link underneath my link to my etsy shop. The bags are now SOLD thanks Johanna. But check back soon as I will make some more!

fabric stamping (daily photo journal)

In craft class this morning we had a go at stamping on some silk scarves. As usual I couldnt just do one pattern but had to layer it with loads of stamps! I think I will cut these up to use as ribbons or squares to add to my scraps collection.

Shine On (wed stamper lace)

The theme for the UK Art Raffle was shiny..I stamped this little girl on fabric and she reminds me of Shirley Temple hence the stamped words "shine on". I was listening to the song shine on you crazy diamond by pink floyd at the time! I have sewed black lace and fabric on so I think it qualifies for this weeks Wednesday Stamper challenge!

Alice domino bags (mixed media monday "primary & secondary colours"

I made a domino bag for a domino swap I am taking part in on UK Stampers. Both the bag and the domino feature a great Alice in Wonderland stamp that I got from Inka. I am now part of the UK Stampers web ring so check the link to the right where you can visit some great stampers blogs in the UK.

Time for some serious gardening!! daily photo journal

It was perfect gardening weather and I had a fav ceanothus tree but unfortunately it had died and was an overgrown mess so I decided to dig it all up and plan for a fruit & veg patch. My kids loved helping me dig the soil being fascinated by all the worms and making a mini pond garden in a bucket. By the time I had finished I was thoroughly windswept and it started to rain but am quite pleased with myself for managing to dig up a dead tree!

fabric box (wednesday stamper openings)

Finished my fabric box..tried to make a video of it but it wouldnt upload!!

So what are you going to do with all these fabric collages then??

I love drinking Yorkshire tea and the teabags come in a lovely shaped box which I am going to cover with all these collages and add some embroidery around the edges..hopefully. Will post it up when its finished.

Theme Thursday "couples"

this one uses my fav lost coast stamp of a really happy couple! with the words remember art. I quite liked sewing over small material scraps for texture (courtesy of colorfulartgirl) many thanks

Arty Girlz "buttons"

This fabric collage has buttons sewn around a stampington image of a little button girl with the words art treasure

Created by Hand "love"

another fabric collage using a tuscan rose stamp on mustard fabric.. I have added the word love and altered art as well as some sequins off an old cushion

mixed media monday "friendship"

I have been raiding my fabric scraps today and did a couple of fabric collages this afternoon. This one has a stampington stamp with the words Best of Times..I have also stamped friends all using versacraft the finest fabric pad in the world!!

buddha & fruit

I have just done the big shop and they were selling blackcurrant plants. So my 4yr old and I have just planted this in our garden..hopefully after a couple of years we will have some nice blackcurrants..think I will plant some more fruit & veg this year as I have one part of the garden which gets loads of sun but looks a bit dead looking..Also in my garden is my little buddha looking very serene.

gothic arches "grunge"

Havent done a gothic arch for ages with xmas etc!! so when I saw grunge I thought I have to do that!! Stamped background, I have added some burnt greaseproof paper made into a crown and the words "grunge queen". I think I am one of those people who love anything thats rusty etc and when I saw this greaseproof paper that had come out the oven...I thought I could use that!! True to grunge queen form!! What have you used recently that was meant to be thrown out!!

small world of inchies blue

Made a quick inchie with some crafty individuals images and scrap paper.

got any mincemeat left over from xmas?

For todays daily photo journal I thought I would post up this tasty recipe that uses any jars of mincemeat you may have left over from making mince pies.
Gorgeous cake
You will need:
Loaf tin, 4oz margarine, 1 tablespoon of honey, 1 egg, 6oz sr flour, 8oz mincemeat, apple or orange juice.
Grease the loaf tin and line it with greaseproof paper. Mix the margarine, egg and honey, then add the flour. Add the mincemeat and enough juice to make it smooth.
Put the mix in the tin and bake for 40mins at 180C or 325F. Nice served with custard.

Felted and knitted squares work in progress.

I thought for todays daily photo journal I would show you what I have been doing today. I went to a textile group and although the wool that I had wasnt suitable for wet felting it worked ok with dry needle felting. I made a couple of squares with needle felting and combined them with some knitted squares. I really like the combination of textures. I have seen a great article in cloth paper scissors magazine about the Australian artist Elizabeth Armstrong. In one of the pictures she combines felting with couched embroidery. I am going to have a go at couch embroidery next on these squares but havent decided whether its going to be a cushion or a bag for all my felting stuff!! Think I will let it evolve and decide for itself.

Blue ankh necklace and earrings

I made this necklace to use a blue ankh pendant I have had for a while..I also made some earrings to go with it and to match my bracelet. I am definitely going to be the girl with "rings on her fingers and bells on her toes she shall have music wherever she goes.." this year!!

Blue Bracelet - daily photo journal

I always like to try something new so have had a go at beading. I have loads of beads and instead of just looking at them I thought I better make something!! So for todays daily photo journal I thought I would show a photo of a blue bracelet I made last night..I think it matches my turquoise ring quite nicely. I have got a blue ankh pendant so am making a necklace to go with that! I have found some good bead sites so will post the links up soon.

Freezing Fog = Roly Poly Pudding!!

My daily photo journal today is of the school path in freezing fog. I wonder how many times I will walk up and down this path with 3 young school age sons!! I love the trees that line this path and the school grounds are full of trees with crows in them. As it was freezing we all decided to bake roly poly pud later for our tea (evening meal)!! What is your fav comfort food in the cold?

My 2nd knitting project done in one night!!

Its freezing cold here at the moment so managed to knit up a quick scarf in one night using these childrens needles. I bought them in Ethel Austins as part of a childrens knitting kit for only £1!! and they are great for knitting chunky scarves.

Arty Girlz "anything but a card"

This challenge was quite easy for me as I dont really do cards anymore. I decided to make a fabric coaster with the words "alter everything but yourself".

Dont you just love buy one get one free!!

So for the daily photo journal I thought I would show you what I bought this morning at St Helens market. I love supporting market stalls rather than big chain shops especially when they have buy one get one free on a large selection of their wool!! At the front of the photo is a red knitting needle box that was given to my mother in law from her mother in law and now she has passed it on to me!! I love anything that has a history to it and the process of passing articles down through the generations..what do you treasure that has been passed down to you?

Anyone know of any good Jewellery making video tutorials on the net?

I am gutted that TV Weekly has stopped. I was just about to have a go at all the jewellery making shows on Plum & Verdigris and now I cant find them!!! So does anyone know of any similair shows which has videos of jewellery making demos??? You can still see some of the TV Weekly shows by checking out this link http://video.google.com and typing in tvweekly (thanks Sid from UK Stampers for this link).

daily photo journal 2009

Lisa from la femme papier has started a daily photo journal for 2009 so I thought I would have a go..I am not sure if I will be able to post a photo up everyday but I will have a go as I think it is nice to put up something different rather than just challenge art photos. Here is a picture of some ferns covered with frost. I like the fact that it has last years brown ferns with the new shoots coming through. I love ferns and I have quite a few in my garden. When I was younger we used to go on holiday to Wales and at the back of my mums old house was a forest full of ferns that they used to call the "fairy glen".

mixed media monday "moon"

Another fabric quilt square with some bright colours and threads with beads on a safety pin. I have used one of my fav inka stamps of a moon. I was listening to Planet Rock tonight and as I was thinking of a title the song by The Cult came on "Brother Wolf Sister Moon"..so sister moon it is!! Quite like doing quilt squares as I think I might eventually join them all up to make a throw or something..I have got that many ATCs etc in books not on show.

small world of inchies "collage"

when I saw the word Collage I thought I must make time to have a go at this one. Continuing with my fabric phase I made a fabric collage quilt square with some stamped birds and haphazard sewing with some wool ribbon flowers at the bottom.

Taken back to my childhood by these cakes!

My sons got a cakes and cookies book for christmas and we decided to make butterfly cakes today. The smells of baking and the taste of these delicious cakes took me back to many years ago when I used to make them with my mum. Isnt it great when something takes you back...what have you made recently that brought back memories?

I managed to finish my bag today!!

I managed to finish my knitted bag today and I am very pleased with it as its my first attempt (besides knitting a wonky scarf at 17yrs) at knitting. I have added some pom poms that came with a childrens knitting kit and some tassels and beads on the front. I have lined it with cream canvas and it is big enough to carry all my wool round in it and needles etc. Off to have a go at crochet next!!

Sewing down the generations!!

My mum is very talented at sewing and she has passed her love of sewing on to me. Father Christmas brought my sons some puppet making kits and here is my 5yr old with his very first puppet which he sewed all by himself!! I think it is so important to pass skills on. What skills do you hope to pass on?

My crafty space

I was looking at Lisa's blog la femme papier and she has a video of her craft room before and after she has rearranged it. I thought I would put up a pic of my craft corner which is in my conservatory (a glass extension to the back of my house). I have a small corner that I share with my kids craft stuff. Although it is small I have loads of light coming in through the glass windows and it overlooks my garden so I can watch the birds in the tree. Most of the cupboards are from my local fleamarket. Its a pity it gets quite cold in there of a night but its lovely in the day with the sun shining. I would love to see more bloggers put up pics of their craft space and how we manage without huge craft studios!!

Theme Thursday "something new"

I got my copy of Cloth Paper Scissors magazine yesterday and there was an article on making fabric book so I thought I would have a go. My kids went to play at a friends house so I had time to get my sewing machine out and use some of the fabric scraps that I have. I made the book out of felt and stamped some images onto material. The second and fourth page pockets open up and I hope to store fabric ATCs in there. Enjoyed making this book and I can see I will be doing a lot more with fabric & textiles in 2009 as I really enjoy working with fabric compared with paper as I get can put more texture in my work.