Let your creative soul fly in the New Year (Theme Thursday Flying)

Playing around with paint and foil on this page. The foil has come out distressed looking as I put the foil down using a glue stick. I have tried foiling with double sided tape and it gives a clearer image but it all depends on what result you want. Shona Cole has got a good article on foiling so check out her blog. I tidied the conservatory today which is where all my and my kids craft stuff is .so it looks a lot better and am now ready to go in there rather than climb over an obstacle course...its a pity its very cold in there at the moment. Hope you all have a nice New Years Eve..at midnight there are usually loads of fireworks surrounding us and if we listen carefully we can sometimes hear the boats horns on the Mersey which is about 7 miles from where we live.

Out with the old and in with the new (Created by Hand and Three Muses Challenge)

In 2010 I hope to start keeping more sketchbooks as I want to do more drawing, painting, sketching with pastels, crayons etc. This is the first 2 pages of a sketchbook. The drawing to the left is a quick one I did with pastels last night but I wasnt very happy with it so today I have added various doodles and thoughts. The most important words on here I think are .."just try"...we often think we cant do anything but how will we know unless we have a go! So expect more sketches, fabric work, drawings on my blog in 2010 as that is the direction I hope to go in..what direction do you think your art will go in 2010 and dont say the rubbish bin!! So out with old ideas and in with new fresh ideas ..heres to an arty 2010

Collaged diary and address books

For Christmas I treated myself to some collage sheets and packs from Traci Bautista, collage visions and Lisas altered art (all can be found on Etsy). I have printed some of these sheets off onto canvas sheets added some buttons and threads and made some book covers out of hessian. The smaller of the books also features some scrunched up magazine pages that when scrunched takes on fabric qualities and can be sewn through.

Rhapsody in Blue ...finished but with a sewn finger!!

There hasnt really been anything on tv of a night to watch so have been working on my wall hanging. This took several attempts until I was happy with it. At first I thought I would machine around the edges so tried that, then decided to hand sew it but that looked too flat as I wanted more texture! So after pondering what to do I decided to use some variegated sulky thread to sew the applique to the background with random freestyle machine embroidery. I liked this effect but at one stage I was distracted and sewed through the top of my finger...so there I was trying not to howl looking at a needle and thread through my finger thinking I am going to have to take this needle out. The only thing I was thinking was please dont bleed all over my sewing! but at least it healed well and didnt bleed all over the piece...all in the name of art ha ha!!.

I like the effect the variegated thread freestyle embroidery has on the multi coloured dyed fabric as it adds a different layer of colour. For the quilting at the back I used some blue thread and just sewed randomly in curves. I have hung it on my wall next to my lava lamp and favourite palm plant and laugh everytime I look at it remembering how I sewed through my finger....

Rhapsody in Blue..start of a quilt....

Earlier in the year I was lucky enough to win some excellent books from C&T publishers for a lutradur piece I designed for their June challenge. Amongst them was a fantastic book by Ricky Tims "Rhapsody Quilts". I have been looking through it and wishing I could do something like that..but then I thought well if I dont have a go how will I ever learn!! In the summer I bought some hand dyed material from a lovely little quilt shop up in Frodsham, Cheshire. I want to have a go at dyeing next year so bought some to see what effect I am aiming for. So far I have put the pieces down so if I have time tomorrow night I can possibly start sewing around the pieces and then quilting it. Its going to be a wallhanging..so wanted to show you each stage as I go along rather than the finished item.

One World One Heart blog giveaway again...

The One World One Heart blog giveaway is happening again on 25th Jan 2010. Check out the pink magic carpet badge to the right to get all the details.

Snowy Sunday (Sunday postcard christmas)

It started to snow so had to feature some snow on my card today. Loaded various images and paint and added some glitter. Have been wrapping up all the presents today for the relatives and used the tags that my children made (see post below). Have a wonderful Christmas ....make sure you have time for yourself as I know how busy it gets with all the cooking etc!!

Loads of tags and here comes the snow!

It started to snow this morning and everywhere looks so fresh especially my garden statues. Out came all the wellies, gloves and hats and off ran all the kids to have a great time. We later made some tags for the christmas presents..I think they have done a really good job with their stamping for their age..they are only 4 and 6yrs! It was funny watching them count to 5 while they inked up the stamp.

magical snow ..art creations friday 54

I played around with texture for this piece. Covered an ATC with embossed swirled foil for the night sky. At the bottom I used some white tile grout and stamped into it. Added some glitter and sequins with faux gems for some magical bling. Is it snowing where you live?

fantastic altered spoon and fat bird balls!!

I took part in an altered cutlery swap on UK Stampers and this fantastic altered spoon called "forget me not" arrived today off Ann in Ireland...so thanks Ann.


It has been really cold here today but the snow hasnt reached us yet. My sons helped me make some fat bird balls using lard and bird seed rolled up into a ball. The birds love them especially the robin that comes to visit..so why not make some for the birds in your garden

mad hat and moo slides!!!

Made some more moo microscope slide dangly things today. I have seen on a tim holtz dvd that he dips slides into utee so might try this soon and try not to burn my fingers!! anyone tried this and does it work?? Been to two crafty get togethers this week..last night went to my friend Pats who has the most gorgeous vintage Christmas decorations everywhere and today my crafty friends met up for a nice get together over lunch. My friend Chantelle bought me this mad hat that looks very Scandinavian..I felt like Pippy Longstocking in it as it has long black plaits at the sides! It was great to wear today as the wind has been bitingly cold ..I think snow is on its way!!

Bauble Christmas card (Wed Stamper blue and white)

Made a quick Christmas card today using some stamped baubles. All stamps available from the Artistic Stamper. Added some silver snowflake sequins to the top and faux gems. Wonder if it will snow this year..it can after Friday as then I wont have to drive in it!!!

little moo dangly things!! (mmm dangles and created by hand vintage)

I treated myself to a cemerony collage sheet off Etsy so have used it to make little decorations. I have put the image between microscope slides then added alcohol inked foil and clip to the top with some beads as the dangly bit. They are quite hard to photograph with the reflections in the glass. This was just a quick and simple project as so far this week I have watchied several nativity plays and tonight I was writing loads of cards for my children's friends...hope you are finding a bit of time to chill out!

Teapost cosy christmas present

Every year I ask my Mum and Dad what they want for Christmas and they always says a voucher and make me something. My Dad brought down all the stuff I have made for him that he had kept..I was really touched. I know they both love a proper cup of tea made in a teapot so I thought why not make them a teapot cosy to keep the tea warm! They always like things made with pictures of their grandsons. I managed to print out a photo of my sons onto calico backed with freezer paper..this is an excellent way to get the images onto material as the freezer paper stiffens the fabric to make it go through the printer. I have dabbed a bit of pva glue to protect the image from wear and tear (for security you can only see the words as dont like putting photos of my children on the net). I am quite pleased the way this has turned out...have used simple stitching on it to reflect the child like design. I have used fast 2 fuse interfacing to back the material shapes prior to sewing them on.

freestyle diaries

I gave a friend one of my freestyle covered address books last week and she absolutely loved it so made some more diaries. I think I need to buy some more organza so I can vary the colours. Background is burnt chiffon, lace, organza with layers of freestyle machine embroidery over it. I have used a blue variegated sulky thead and silver metallic thread. Around the edges I have added some hand embroidery

ppppp pick up a penguin!!

we braved the crowds today in the city centre to see the penguins. My son had helped to decorate one of the penguins exhibited in Liverpool One shopping centre so we all went to see them today. Last year there were super lamb banana sculptures all over Liverpool but this year they have been replaced by fibreglass sculptures of penguins. A lot of the local schools were asked to decorate them. I would have liked them to be put around the suburbs as trying to park in the city is an expensive nightmare. There was also a lovely grotto and huge wheel..we might try and go on the wheel mid week as the crowds were horrendous today and I didnt want to queue for 3 hours!! So not much time for creating today but they are good penguins arent they!

Christmas cards for the teachers (wed stamper Winter)

I made some Christmas cards for my sons teachers today. The theme over at Wednesday Stamper is Winter and what could be more wintery than snowmen and holly. I have stamped a snowman and pixie carrying some holly on the cards. I coloured them in with pencils then added some glitter for a bit of bling. All stamps used are available from the Artistic Stamper..these stamps are especially good for children to use perhaps as they can fill the glitter in quite easily as they have clear outlines.

Felted Freestyle Embroidered Brooches

I had a go at freestyle machine embroidery over some felted background. I have made them into little brooches with added beads and hand embroidery around the edges. I am hoping my craft friends will love these as they are something different!

Bird candles (Mixed Media Monday wings of love)

My husband bought me these candles from a summer fair last year knowing I would alter them one day! I have been watching the Paper wishes webisodes and loved the idea of stamping onto candles. I have just added a simple ribbon and some faux gems for a bit of bling to make the main bird image the focus. The candle looks lovely and Christmssey next to my poinsetta given to me by my friend Chantelle.

First attempts at freestyle machine embroidery

Finished purple book cover

I treated myself to a new Brother sewing machine recently as I wanted to get into more freestyle work. I bought a quilting (darning) foot for it lowered the feed dogs and had great fun today sewing circular patterns...its addictive.

Finished blue book cover

I have found some thread called sulky which has variegated colours in it and is ideal for adding different colours and dimension to a piece. The background is burnt layers of chiffon, old sarongs etc as mentioned in an earlier post. On top of the sulky thread I have used a mixture of metallic copper and silver threads..its great as they didnt break at all..with my old machine they used to break all the time..so very pleased

Freestyle machine embroidery using sulky and metallic threads over chiffon & organza etc

I have used the finished fabric to make address book covers and the edges have hand embroidery..really pleased with the texture of them...I can see myself making some more of these!

guitars, scarf and purple

I just seem to love wearing purple at the moment and needed a new scarf to go with my new purple suede boots. I knitted this scarf in a night watching tv..Gino winning Im a celebrity get me out of here! It is knitted with 3 balls of different coloured wools using big needles and is lovely and warm so dont spend a fortune on a warm scarf just knit your own!

Here is a photo of some guitar templates my husband cut out with his new router..we have so many guitars in our house that he is renovating or making. My favourite is a Fender telecaster he bought and reliced (distressed) and added a dollar quarter to it at the top of the scratch plate.

burning down the fabric!

I have had a lot of positive comments about the background for my Twitter page so thought I would get the heat tool out again and play around with some chiffon etc. I have picked up various old sarongs, old see through blouses at charity stores and now have a big box of fabric ready to melt and burn!! I am going to try machine embroidery on these samples and perhaps cover some notebooks with them but wanted to show you how I have made them rather than just show the finished projects. The quilting arts site has some really good ebooks to download (look a the column to the right hand side after signing in) with ideas for small quilt projects and machine embroidery tips so they are worth checking out. Off to make some lunch and then sew these on my machine

Troubled Marilyn (Art Creations Friday challenge)

Marilyn epitomised the troubled celebrity culture with all its problems of being in the public eye constantly. I loved her films and thought she was marvellous in Some Like it Hot. What a shame that she died so young...no one ever knew the real Marilyn hence the words I have added "odd things in my mind".

Paintings, goodies in the post and advent surprises!

Today I got some lovely hinge fasteners plus a lovely ATC and card off my friend Lisa..check out here newly opened shop.


I went to Lindas and we are having a little Advent swap where we have made 25 little things for each of us to open..I have opened 3 so far and am very pleased to have got a diary and frame to alter so far (love that stamped image Linda)! Looking forward to opening another one tomorrow.

My sons had an art exhibition after school with their paintings properly framed and exhibited to raise funds for the school. It was great to see everyones art properly exhibited much better than the Tate

Lisa V is offering free downloads again..

Lisa Vollrath is offering free download images again..check them out here

http://countdown.tentwostudios.com/

Santa Trees (Wednesday Stamper Santa Claus)

I bought a real Christmas tree again for the house as I love the smell of pine..this year I bought a pot bound one though to save sweeping up the needles. We had a great time decorating it yesterday as the decorations box came down from the loft. My 6yr old always decorates his own tree and that is in the kitchen with all the decorations he has made in various playgroups and at school. These Santa trees are photographed in front of it. I used a template for the tree from Caroles Crafts in Widnes, Cheshire...a new craft shop I have found that has replaced the old one I used to visit. It is really handy as next door is a farm shop with all horses and chickens running round and where I can get huge bales of hay for our guinea pigs cheaply. To get back to the Santa trees I have used a Santa Claus stamp on them which I really love as it has got great detail and stamps well. All the stamps I have used are from The Artistic Stamper. I have added lots of faux gemstones for a bit of Christmas bling.