The winner is .........Jacques Junque !

A little painting i did years ago for a Cancer charity,....just to make my blog Christmassy lol

And
The winner is .........Jacques Junque ! for my blog Givaway......
Her blog is here
(Have commented on your blog Jacqui for your contact addy :))


Thankyou all for your lovely comments
Happy Christmas and a Wonderful New Year !

Christmas Giveaway and Sewing Kit project !

Christmas Giveaway and Sewing Kit project !
The sewing kit is not the giveaway though,I need more practice.........

I was very inspired by the sewing project in the Dec issue of Craft Stamper,so ordered Tim Holtz Alterations Movers and Shapers(Label) which i can use in my Cuttlebug Machine.........it came today so i couldnt wait to start on my version of the sewing kit.I,m sort of happy with the finished piece,i,m calling it my practice piece lol,a lot of work involved !

I cutout all the pieces and dye;d my fabric's .
I used
Felt for padding
The above Tim Holtz diecut
My Crop O Dile and gromets.
A Transfered image
and a little cheap sewing kit out of Hobby Craft.
Lace (Antique)
Foam Flowers painted.
and stamped some scrolls on the backgrounds with Tim Holtz distress ink pads onto my fabric.
Also a keyring for holding pages

This new diecut has really inspired me it measures roughley 3.1/2 x6" and such a lovely shape.

To thank everyone for supporting me and the lovely comments throughout the year,I,m giving away a Fabric purse below,totally made from scratch..........a sample of my fabric work this year.




Everyone who leaves a comment by the 17th of this month,one name will be drawn out of the hat by my friend,please leave me your email address's so i can contact you :) or email me privately.

Wishing you all a Happy Christmas and a Wonderful New Year x

Variation on a Theme

Altered Notebook and Pencil

Using Fabric Paper ....rubber gloves had a leak now have green fingers lol,I,m not into gardening !!

Fabric Paper Notepad

Not another i hear you say LOL.......these little projects are keeping me occupied at the moment.

The cover of this little notepad is created with Fabric Paper,how to make FP is hereI used Brusho paints,think i over did it a bit,but quite liked the effect and the texture,the background is the paper side of the FB and the hearts are the fabric side,padded out with cotton wool,i used white Organza material,which i love for this as the Brusho colours show through merged and misty......the tissue i used was a paper napkin stripped down to one ply.and of course some machine stitching(optional)

Getting Grungy !

Grunge Sticky Notepad holder

Finding it a bit difficult to use my sewing machine at the moment with this painful shoulder,had the MRI results,its fractured and part of the bone is lodged in my ligaments ! have to wait now for the surgeon to come back off his hols,another 2 weeks to go ..............

Thought i would try a piece of Tim Holtz Grunge paper to make a sticky notepad holder.
I used a thick layer of "Liquitex Gloss Gel brilliant" onto the grunge and let that dry then painted over with Acrylic metalic gold and bronze,(made a nice textured finish)I then glued onto some leather type card for the inside.

In Poundland i found a couple of packs of foam flowers and butterflies all different shapes and sizes,these i painted up for embellishing the front then found a couple of beads for the butterfly,used some brads to attach the flowers on.
Then i glued the sticky notepad inside another Poundland find lol a nice large oblong one,never seen that size before.A Tim Holtz hinge came in handy for the fastening,with a piece of gold cord burnt ends to pull through.
Didnt take long and kept me from going mad with boredom lol.......Just added a pink one done with my bind it all machine.

Painted and Stitched

Painted and stitched

This purse measures 6x6" made from scratch,think i,m losing my mojo as this wasnt easy,the creative ideas are not flowing at the moment,got there in the end though lol,and quite happy with it............i got to use my embellish machine too,I cut out the flower from a template and punched out the center smaller ones.The inside is lined with soft Vilene.
Spray dye'd the viola fabric with cosmic shimmers,I love these and must invest in more different colours,I find the spray bottles get blocked up,so i bought a few Tim Holtz Mini Misters,then transfered the dye into these,much better !

For my next project i,m inspired by some purses and book covers in "Embellish,Stitch,Felt" by Sheila Smith,i need more practice with my embellish machine to gain my confidence,so scared of breaking needles lol.

I,m also thinking of doing another Giveaway this Christmas ,dont quite know what yet,all the stuff i have made this year is stashed away I need to go through it all then decide.I,m still amazed how i got into this Fabric Art !

Grunge Paper and Fabric Flower Cards

Grunge Paper Flower cards

I,m still trying to do a little bit of crafting and sewing although my shoulder is still painful to move it,MRI scans on wednesday so hopefully they can sort me out after.

This past week i have been inspired to make some grunge paper flowers,why is it i still need to buy stuff,I have the diecut machines and a couple of flower punches but still need more different shape flowers grrrrrr ..........

Well with what i have at hand this is what i came up with not earth shattering lol but passable,i used some templates and my punch to cut ot these (bought some grunge paper from Ebay,I LOVE Ebay lol)
I then painted with metalic acyrlic paints before that i embossed on my cuttlebug,but did'nt work to good on grunge,so next time i will try card ,take a look at this ladies vidio on making flowers,very inspiring here The backgrounds i have used Batik Fabric layered onto felt,I meant to do some fancy stitching but forgot !
The blue/green card i dye'd some ribbon for the centre then put some gold glue dots onto that,used a brad for the centre to hold it all together.

Watching that vidio i think,i will invest in some more die's of different flower shapes ................here we go again lol

Flower Purse

This purse has been hanging around waiting to be finished for my friend,so today i took the plunge,just need to find some sort of closure for it.

I think this one has taken me the longest to complete as its sort of grown from nothing lol, just basic white fabrics dye'd layered onto felt for padding,I used my embellisher machine to create the flowers,but first using a rubber stamp for a template,a couple I diecut on my sizzix machine,then added the beads and a airdried clay butterfly i made ages ago.All trial and error as per usual,but quite pleased with it,I love a project that uses all tech's especially painting ,just experimenting with colour.

I,m back !

Its ages since i did any crafting due to my painful shoulder,the problem being that in order to craft i have to pull down box's from shelves and hunt through my stash,you know what thats like trying to find things,so its been quite difficult,I lost my mojo there for awhile lol..........Still under the hospital having Physio,I see the consultant Thursday,I dont think it will be good news,still have limited movement and a lot of pain.

I just thought i would give it a try yesterday or go mad with boredom,Annie in my group sent me some pieces of Batik fabric,they have been looking at me for days,been itching to make something so this is the result........I used a piece as a background stitched onto felt,then googled for a fishy template,this i traced onto a piece of see through Viola material then painted it,then sewed onto background and padded out with some cotton wool,then beaded.I have made a greetings card with it 4"x4" Just need a caption now to add,like have a fishy day haha(NOT)
I,m also in the middle of an oil landscape,will take me ages but at least I have made a start !

Now i know where theres a will, theres a way,I can use my sewing machine Yaaaaaaaa lol now i,m in the mood i,m going to make a couple more of these cards.

Out of Action !

I had a bad fall last Sunday while walking home from my sons,have damaged my left shoulder,had loads of xrays more to come next week,I am soooooooo fedup cant do much,craftings out for awhile,Have seen the consultant today he said could be torn ligaments around the rotator cuff or a fracture he needs me to get more movement in it before he takes the next lot of xrays,I must say the bruising is beautiful greens and blues lol.
Maybe in a couple of weeks time i,ll be able to craft again I do hope so,or go mad with boredom !Thank God for PC at least i can play my games on Facebook and keep up with the Art world and all your blog posts !xxxxxxxx

Painted Purse

Another little purse but painted this time with Luminere metalic paints,first painting up a piece of Bondaweb on the glue side then using a hot iron, Ironed it paint side down onto a piece of white cotton,wonderful effect ! then sewed with my machine onto a felt backing for padding, after beading and placing a friendly plastic flower onto the front I lined it with lilac silk fabric.

The picture doesnt do it justice at all,with all this tech nowadays you would think they could come up with something to make our images more 3D lol.Anyway another little experiment to fill my time beats doing the ironing which has been looking at me for day Ughhhhhhhh lol
Back

Gothic Arch Book

A Gothic Arch Book Swap i took part in,we had to make 13 pages each theme being dark and grungy with a metalic feel,then Annie the hostess swapped them out so we all had a different page from everyone,this is the result.

This morning i made the cover for it,with UTEE and my hotgun using gold embossing powder and mica powders,Thanks to Jean for giving me the idea of using a Tim Holtz grunge hinge for closure,the butterfly i picked up in Covent Garden second hand market.

Have included a couple of the inside pages created by Myself, Chris, Annie, and Adrienne(UkArtSwaps Group here).A really enjoyable challenge !




Adrienne

Annie

Chris

Mine

Fabric Paper Purse

I am so pleased with myself today with this little purse,its 5"x6" in size,took me 3 days to create and made completely from scratch as my hubby used to say,I started off with plain white organza and a couple of flowery paper napkins,and made 2 sheets of fabric paper,but for this i wanted the Organza side showing as its so pretty,feels very tactile soft and silky,the napkin patterns show through beautifully.
Then i dye'd up some plain white cotton fabric same colours using Cosmic Shimmers to spray dye then used this for lining the inside,the fabric paper pieces i layered up onto felt to give it a bit of body,then had to sew the beads and flower on before sewing all the pieces together.I am going to give it a press with the iron,just to finish off..........thinking about it nothing i do is perfection,whatever we create we can always find fault,well me anyway,but it is an original piece of work,never thought it was in me to create LOL .

This next one is made from a silk scarf i picked up in a charity shop,I recycled it into this purse attaching a beaded earring.

Embellished Bag

Created on my embellisher machine today,bit different for me as this bag is quite large nearly A4 size..........just to practice,quite suprised myself lol,I lined it with Dye'd Vilene inside,broke 2 needles in the process ughhhhhh :D

A fun day !

They could be...........

Credit or Business card wallets,or makeup purse for your evening bag lol.............

Had a really interesting and enjoyable day today,my first experiments with Bondaweb,its so cheap to buy as well,such a lot you can do with it......

I decided to cut a small piece off and paint it with Lumiere metalic paints,painting it on the glue side,waited for the paint to dry then turned paint side down onto some soft white vilene then used a hot iron,WOW the effects are amazing,i will never tire of trying different techniques out,most of the time its very satifying.

The top pink one i embellished with my machine using some scraps of rovings to give it some nice wooly texture,than added the pansy fabric flower.

The bottom one was so pretty and metalic looking i didnt want to cover so just added the piece of real Turquoise.......for closures on both i used Velcro which i dye'd to match.Hope you like them !

Lilac Card

Or Book cover,not sure yet i create these things then dont know what to do with them,I never have a plan,I,m going to try next time.......

This one I started of with dye'd organza,practiced some embellishing on it with my machine,using different fabrics and some rovings,chiffon,Fibres etc.the large flower at the top is foam flowers from Poundland,layered up and beaded the centre,they are really useful for cardmaking.i bought some plain white ones to dye.
I,m calling this another practice piece,its not perfect,one day I,ll get there :D we hope.

Well thats Saturday morning playtime,better get off and cleanup the mess lol

The Beginnings

The Beginnings

A piece of Viola dyed with Cosmic Sprays A4 size,A baby wipe dyed the same and some turquoise roving,and beads.

Where do i go from here i ask myself lol,I want to use my new embellisher machine,I need to back the fabric onto some white material so the colours come through crisp and clear.

But what shall i create? a purse? maybe a panel to attach to a plain cotton shopping bag i bought in Hobby craft.......errrr,book cover.........i giveup needs some thought(thinks aloud lol)any suggestions greatfully received !

Altered Frame

Meet Lola Rae my new baby Great GrandDaughter,this is her first photo taken a few hours after her birth,I altered a plain pine frame i already had using a hot glue gun,metalic luminere paint and some gems lol

Thankyou all for all the Congrats i feel very old now !! LOL

Baby Card !!

My Great Grand Daughter Born this morning July 22nd ! Lola Rae 8lb 4oz.

Mixed Media with a Vintage theme

This piece is for my Flickr Group Art n Soul here measurements 4"x4"'

The brief is
Your piece must measure at least 4 inches square or be of a reasonable postcard size (5 inches by 3 inches minimum)
and may be made from paper, mountboard, chipboard, canvas or fabric.
You must incorporate at least 2 (or all) of the following elements -

A vintage image (stamped or printed)
Paper collage
Some lace or ribbon or fabric
A button or other embellishment
Embossing or texture

I think i have met all the reqirements hopefully,its mainly fabric,has buttons and a vintage image,I have dye'd all the materials to match,although the flowers didnt come out the colour i wanted,I thought they looked vintagy(if there is such a word lol).so this is my entry,please take a look on the link at all the wonderful pieces the other ladies have created for this,very inspiring !

The Lady in Blue

Needlefelted of course on my Embellisher machine lol,I received my book this morning Needle-Felting Magic by Margo Duke,I was inspired to make this piece ( A Book Cover),its a very thin book but a few lovely projects and handy tips for the beginner.

I broke more needles,now i know not to use ribbons ! but it was worth it to get the effect i was after,I am totally in love with this machine at the moment,each piece is a new experience and a learning curve,now i must find more different coloured fibres to use,off to Brighton tomorrow,hopefully find something there.Forgot to say the beaded ruffles under the image are dye'd baby wipes lol The whole piece is sewn and backed onto A4 card stock and folded

And The Lady in Pink..........

The addiction goes on !

Still practicing on my Embellisher machine,(only broke 3 needles so far at least i have learnt how to fix lol)I made these for my two daughter in Laws today to show them what the machine is capable of,giving me a chance to try out different materials,the orangy one is wool fibres overlayed with organza,that was interesting the way the organza ruffled up under the machine,i feel a lot of inspiration coming on lol,the pink one i tried rolling up some wool into balls laying them onto the already worked fibres then fixing on with the machine,you could make flowers this way a bit fiddley,but it works just time and patience !

So all in all i,m really pleased with this machine........this heat is getting me down though,bring back winter lol who likes being hot and sweaty ???????? :D

Needlefelting beginner !

My new Needle Felting(Embellisher) machine came yesterday,these are my very first pieces,I LOVE it,when i first looked at it i thought ekkkkk i,m scared,i hate learning new machines and gadgets,but this is so easy !! no sewing no cotton,just a five prong set of needles that push into almost any sort of fabric,i hope lol,but i have used felt for a base here,also very narrow ribbon for the tree trunks .I mean to try other fabrics later,so if anyone has any tips for a beginner they would be most welcome or could recommend a good book,please let me know.

I started off by watching this vidio over and over,till it sunk in here

I bought some wool rovings i think its called and some balls of fibre,different colours.the top landscape is a mixture of both,i may bead that later,I am so thrilled with this new toy lol.I really want to do landscapes and book covers,its a whole new ball game this lol.

Latest,getting better,this is going to be a cover for a little book

Flower Purse,Next Stage.........

I,m not to sure about this design,I have just got home from my hols in the post was the August issue of Craft Stamper with a lovely flower stamp as a freebee,I have used the stamp on this purse,stamping with stazon then outlining with fabric pen,but am now wishing i had stamped onto spare fabric and cut round so the flowers stood out,to late now !! I live and learn lol.The buttons are the old 40's liberty bodice buttons (I call them)I found loads in a junk shop,they are great for dyeing to match designs.
I,m trying to clear my desks for a new Embellishing machine i have ordered,never tried needle felting,cant wait !

Unfinished projects

Deka iron on paints

These are my unfinished first experiments with Deka iron on paints and i just loveeee them,so had to show the colours before i start working on them !The middle ones my very first go so a bit tatty and messy but i quite liked.Waste not want not lol,a lot more experimenting to do !

My inspiration comes from here

I bought them here

I,m off on my weeks holiday Saturday,I will take these pieces with me to embroider button n bead in the evenings and will blog when they are finished.

The photos dont do these colours justice,they are so bright and pretty especially on the ribbons they almost sparkle......just had to order more they are so easy to transfer to fabric,just painting your design onto copy paper then using a hot iron lay onto the fabric,easy peasy lol.I have ordered golds and browns last night,sooooo inspiring.

Aimee's Birthday Card

Yep i actually made a card lol
My GrandDaughter's Birthday Card,she will be 20years old tomorrow and soon to present me with my first GreatGrand Daughter !

My thanks to Sherry for the image on this card as i dont have the stamp and knew Aimee would love this,so Sherry kindly send me some stamped images which i have used inside too.
Its a watercolour painted background,which i put through my cuttlebug,also the butterfly.

A creative mixture

BACK

FRONT


These are Fabric Charms,its just laying down a mixture of fibres then a layer of Organza and free sewing over,really easy,I need to get a neater edging though,practice makes perfect lol,and finding the right stitch on my machine !



The theme for this one is our own choice but using either fabric paper, fused layers using bondaweb or solvy or any other technique,this has a number of techs,mainly Fabric Paper,watercolour paper,and Angelina Fibers .

They are all my last couple of weeks work for my group swaps,I have joined 2 new groups,I,m really enjoying the challenging swaps,these are all fabric,my next one a chunky book,theme being dark and Grungy Gothic Arches,so i,m looking forward to that,NO fabric work lol.

Collabarative Fabric Art Quilt completed and Framed !

My thanks to UK Art Swaps ladies here


Wendy
Maggie
Mawgan
Annie and Rosie

Who all helped to make this beautiful quilt and myself of course lol.

Fabric Postcards 2

Two more mixed media Fabric Postcards hopefully on the Abstract lines......
The materials i used are,dye'd fabrics,cotton,organza.lace,fibres,and beads, the bird is silk cut from an old scarf,I used Heat n Bond for the fibres,first time i have used that,brilliant for sticking down odds and ends.
I did struggle through these two cards,using materials and techniques i havent used before,I,m really pleased with the brown card with the fibres,well out of my comfort zone,but enjoyed playing.

Fabric Postcard

Fabric Postcard

I am quite enjoying this idea,as its a small project to work on ,similar to the quilt squares,but more useful to give as a prezzy or send to a friend,this ones not good enough to send through the post as it has embellishments on,would have to go into an envelope,I have to keep that in mind when i create my future ones,but the fabric would still get soiled through the post,I have seen in the US that they do sell plastic envies to send these,have to do a search to see if we do in the UK.

This is felt backed,with my own dye'd fabrics using cotton and Organza,the bird is a dye'd babywipe onto felt,stamped into with Tim Holtz Distress ink pad.Left hand corner is my attempt at a birds nest lol.
I have fixed it onto a normal postcard for backing.

The Answer is ...........

A Sewing Case........

I,m not one who prepares every step,I just sort of make it up as I go along,I do know this is not the right way to go about things lol,It does not always work,I plod on till it does work !

This Sewing case is an example of trial and error,but hey ho i got there in the end,quite pleased with it,inside pages are the dye'd silk with squares of dye'd felt sewn in the middle for holding my needles and pins.The corner tag is fabric paper which i stamped the wording on with Stazon inkpad,The flowers are cut out of a scrap of lace and dye'd,I used a tiny blanket stitch I found on my machine and never used before,not easy going round the petals lol.

Now to clear up the mess !!!

Guess what !

First Steps , the start of my new project......
Dye'd white silk with brusho paints,brushed over with gold fabric paint.I may not iron out the creases i quite like it lol.
Cut 6, 4x4 inch felt squares

Ignore the felt square colours as they will be covered.

GUESS what its going to be,definitly not a quilt ............The first person to guess i will send a fabric handmade gift.

Will update as i go,AFTER i get the correct answer lol(thats if you want to play)......I thought after the quilt i had'nt got any inspiration or the will to start something else,I know i have to keep myself going,as its hard to get back into it,also i live on my own and need to keep occupied,so rummaging through my stash of materials I thought if i dye some fabrics it will help to maybe give me an idea,which it has,I have made a couple of these before,but i want this one to be more arty with a lot more going on in the design,dont quite know what sort of design yet,it should just evolve as i go along,hopefully :D