It's been a productive week...

...for us in the Sixty One A household!

I've been putting the decorative touches to some of the boats we started last weekend....

I've also been experimenting with placing some of my pieces in box frames...

The cottages are sold, but the boat is available in my Folksy shop...

My latest batch of Moo postcards arrived a couple of days ago...

...this one is my favourite!

and I picked up 2 of my collages from the framers...
The small one of St Ives is available in my shop: the Portscatho picture will be coming with me to Homespun Fair!
Steve's been busy too!

He made me a little desk caddy from a chunky piece of driftwood...


...and this cool composter (also from wood found on the beach!)

Speaking of which - I didn't show you a photo of what we came across on the beach a couple of weeks ago - the back end of a boat! We're going to transform it into a garden bench - I'll keep you posted on that one!

Another fab acquisiton which we've been storing for about 12 months - a huge cable reel!
I originally wanted the whole thing as a table in the boys room, but it was just too big, so Steve's just taken the top for now and put some legs on. Remember the upcycled pallet chairs he made a while back? Well, he's got 3 more to make now! Then hopefully this gorgeous weather will continue and we can start eating outside soon!

And finally, all this crafting seems to be rubbing off on the kids! How do you like this rather primitive dog that Buddy knocked together yesterday?!
Phew! That seemed like a long post! Have a good week, folks!

Rough Sea

The boys have spent the weekend with my parents, so Steve and I have been hard at it in the shed - working! (for any of you with smutty minds!) Plenty of driftwood to work with at the moment, I felt a bit spoilt for choice! This is one piece I finished yesterday: I love the bit of wood with blue paint on it, it really suggested a rough sea to me - that's why I decided to hoist the red flag!

The 'sea' has real movement I think - partly to do with the uneven shape of the blue paint, and because of the layers and different colours, it suggests seaspray - to me, anyway!

I had a few nice small pieces of wood like this one below - I love the shape of it, with that little natural hole in the corner. Because of their size, I was able to use long nails instead of sticks as the masts. These tie in nicely with the rusty washers I think.


It's been a while since I did any of these sculptures with the bunting above, but I couldn't resist! It would brighten up any room and is available in my Folksy shop.

Finally, I must say a HUGE 'Thank You' to everyone who bought from my shop for Comic Relief, and also to those of you who helped to spread the word about it. To be honest, I was worried that I wouldn't make any sales at all, but we raised £348! How fantastic is that? Thank you SO much - you are brilliant! x

Red Nose Day

It's that time of year again folks! I will be donating ALL money from tomorrow's sales in all my shops (Folksy, Etsy, my website and Noths) to Comic Relief. Please spread the word!

I'll let you know how much we raise! xx

St Ives again!

I don't know why I chose to do another collage of St Ives when there are so many beautiful places to choose from around here!

Perhaps it's because there's a gallery there that want some collages of mine, so it's back-up if I don't manage to sell it myself!

Or perhaps it's one of my favourite places in the whole world!

The piece is about 22cm wide by 15cm high - and it took me less than a day. I feel like I've been pretty prolific this week!

I've really enjoyed it. But now, orders have gotten in the way, and I have owls and love birds to make! Hoping to do one of the moors later in the week! I'll be sure to keep you posted!

In the meantime I'll leave you with this...

Isn't it cute? Some of you may recognise the image from Scandinavian Stitches by Kajsa Wikman. When I saw it was available as an art print in her Etsy shop, I bought one immediately and now it's framed in my studio. I love it!
Kajsa also writes a blog - go check it out! Have a fab weekend y'all!

Portscatho collage

Yesterday was one of those rare days when all orders (trade and private) had been taken care of, so with my youngest boy at pre-school all day, I sat at a clear desk and started on a new collage. This one is only half the size of the ones I've done before (A4 size), and I was pleasantly surprised how quickly I finished it!

I find it so therapeutic making these, almost like doing a jigsaw puzzle.

Here's a couple of details: in this one I'm liking the floral piece in the sea - can you see it?

I like just giving an impression of something (eg these flowers here). No labour-intensive detailing for me, thank you very much!!

I'm hoping to do a few more of these.
It's not so daunting starting something on a smaller scale. I could do some really small ones - this would work quite well, I reckon.

I think I even prefer it to the bigger picture! What do you think?

Have a gander....

At these geese...



...stitched freehand on the sewing machine and taken from these old sketches...

I've got a pitch booked at the Royal Cornwall Show in June, thought I'd frame some stitchings and see if I can sell any! I'm going to frame the top 3 together, ie in a triple frame.

On the subject of birds, look as this fantastic book I bought a couple of weeks ago.

Take a look at the author's website here. She also writes a great blog here. The book includes patterns and instructions on making all manner of birds. I can't wait to get enough time to have a go at this beautiful swan...

Before I go, I must tell you that another Homespun Fair is fast approaching!
It's taking place at Portscatho on Easter Monday (April 25th) and promises to be a wonderful event. You can find more details on the Homespun blog.

Really hope to see you there!