2012

Well of course it has been for over a fortnight now, but it has taken me a little while to get back in the swing of things! I hope you all had a fun/relaxing time over the festive period (already feels an age ago!) Seems a little late to be wishing you all a Happy New Year - but I do hope it will be a great one for you guys!

Of course, as soon as Christmas is over, we are bombarded with gumpf about Valentines Day! I remember this time two years ago, I made this seahorse mobile (thought it was quite a nice, non-traditional theme for Valentines, as seahorses mate for life) but never took it any further. So this year I have tweaked it a little and popped them in my shops on Folksy and Etsy.

The colours/fabrics in this one were requested by a customer...

The mobile casts a gorgeous shadow on the wall....
Other Valentine offerings include the caged love-birds which seem to be popular all year round!
I have 3 orders for them at the moment, and while I should have been finishing the first one last week, I had the urge to make this little fellow...

...and then a little racing friend for him!

Not sure what inspired them exactly, I think it was the gorgeous fabric ('Echo' by designer Lotta Jansdotter). Anyway people seemed to like them and they sold after I posted a picture on Facebook.

If you are anything like me, then January is definitely time for home improvements! I think it's because the house looks so bare after the decorations have come down. Last week I painted the lounge (looks so fresh and clean now, doubt it will last long!) and Steve sank this fab piece of driftwood into the plaster above the fireplace, which had always seemed a bit stark before - the wood really warms it up, I think!

I picked up this mirror at our local junk shop for a fiver - gotta love a bargain!! The knitted corsage hides the nasty brass picture hook!

And finally, look at what lovely Steve made me as an extra Chrimbo pressie! Authentic lobster markers are available from Bringing The Outside In.... but I love my "pretend" ones just as much!

Valentine Birds

Hey guys, well would you believe it's Friday again?! I've had a lovely week again, there are a few orders trickling through, but I've had plenty of time to work on new ideas (the best thing about January I reckon!) I suppose I should have been thinking about Valentines Day about 6 months ago, but, true to form, I've left it almost to the last minute before listing anything!
This is what I've come up with....

Valentine love-birds made from bright felt and gorgeous vivid fabric from Seamstar.

The stitched envelope is draped around the birds neck so it can be removed - and the recipient can get to enjoy it all year round!

It's been a while since I did freestyle stitching like this!

In a choice of 2 colours - can you see that the wings are heart-shaped?

These two are hanging over my bed at the moment - I think a flock in lots of different colours would look nice! Available from Folksy now!

Happy Weekend Folks!

Fabric Seahorse Mobile

Did you know that seahorses stay with the same mate for life? I have to confess I didn't, until a fellow blogger tipped me off on a previous post (cheers, Marion!) With this in mind, I thought I'd go for a slightly less conventional idea for Valentines Day and have come up with this fabric mobile, complete with hanging heart (well, had to get a more traditional 'love' symbol in there somewhere!) The circle is actually an embroidery hoop, which has been bound with fabric strips and vintage buttons. Though it is intended as a Valentines gift, I can also see it hanging in a nursery or child's bedroom. For that reason I feel that I need to make another with a touch of pink to make it more appealing to little girls.

It's not a great photo, but I love the shadows the creatures cast on the wall!
Have a great weekend folks!

Love birds

So as soon as Christmas has come and gone, all the Valentines stuff appears - I hate it too, but that's just the way it is, I suppose. Anyway, I've been playing around with several ideas, and here is my first offering...'Love Birds'. Originally the birdcage (made essentially using gardening wire and an embroidery hoop) was covered with papier mache with a poem printed around the bottom, but I couldn't get it right and using fabric seemed softer somehow. I don't think I'll be making many of these as it was very time-consuming, although I would like to trial one using darker fabrics. I'm finding it really hard putting a price on it - it did take me ages, but you have to be realistic about how much someone would be willing to pay...a common dilemma for artists everywhere I guess (unless your name is Damien Hirst or something!)
Anyway, your comments are always most welcome. Hope you're having a good week! (It's snowing again here!)

PS Spotty and floral linen fabric by the very lovely Sarah Hardaker