Fallen

I have to tell you about Creative Textures which are video online classes and they are all about,well, its all in the name lol, creative textures.... They are video recorded classes for you to do whenever if ever you choose. They are given by 2 wonderful artists who are informative and fun to watch, they also share a lot of secrets on the forum and interact with all who wish to take part. There is no time limit or commitment to these classes. Here is a picture I did after watching several of the videos, they are so inspiring I have several more ready to finish. I had initially painted this various colours of oranges and reds but although they were 'my colours' they were too much for this. I'm finally happy with it, it has been overpainted so many times that I should just varnish it now so I can't put any more layers on it lol. Hope you like it :0)))

Creative Weekend

Hi folks

Back again with another bag - I know I promised I wouldn't but they are kinda addictive lol. Audrey came to stay the weekend and we played non stop with fabrics, wire, silk paper, procion dyes etc etc. We enjoyed every moment learning from each other and topped it off with a nice walk on the beach thrown in for good measure. Here are some piccies I promised.......

Its springtime

Hi folks, the sun is shining and there are blue skies here at the moment. I hope wherever you are that the sunshine lifts your mood like it has mine. I thought I might show you a few of the things that I made over the past week. I do keep busy almost daily as I do my City and Guilds with Linda Kemshall but I sometimes like to dabble into other things just for me too. I made a bag last weekend and some jewellery for a night out and also took part in a workshop yesterday and made another one (I seem to have made a lot of bags when I think of it, must dig out the rest of them). I have also shown a paper collage which I did as part of my C&G coursework, I had fun doing this using tissue paper, paint and oil pastels. Thanks for dropping by and leaving your comments.

Stamper's Sampler

I am bursting with delight at finally seeing these pages which are published in this month's Stamper's Sampler. I tried this technique early last year and with lots of encouragement from my lovely forum friends - THANK YOU - I made some samples and sent them off. I had given up on them and thought they got lost in the post but the're not - they are published for everyone to see and I am thrilled. Also published in this month are forum friends Jo and Nellie - well done ladies on some fabulous work.

Noriko Bag

I had finally finished a very belated xmas pressie for my friend Elaine this week and was delighted to be able to give it to her this weekend. This is a beautiful little bag which you can find the instructions and pattern for here so a big thank you to lazy girl designs. I have passed this link to many many friends so this bag should be popping up quite a lot. I hope to perfect my sewing skills and make a few more of these.

Happy New Year

I know I promised to post more but doesn't time seem to just disappear? I've been busy working on My City & Guilds work which I'm doing with Linda Kemshall so I'll post this painting I did a year or so ago. Its called The Escape. I've been creating some wonderful backgrounds while experimenting for my sketchbook using salt and clingfilm and the outcome is great. I do hope to get some of that work posted here soon. I hope you are all full of creative enthusiam for the new year and hope to get back in the creative swing with you all too. Take care xx

Happy Holidays

Hi folks and a very Happy Christmas wish to you all. I hope this is a peaceful time of year for everyone. I managed to get some crafting time to myself and hope to get lots more over the coming weeks. Here is a little snippet of something which I hope to send off to be published very soon.

I've been absent......

I know I know, I do promise myself constantly that I will photo my work and blog it more regularly but at this time of year its almost impossible. I have been doing lots of work at home making curtains and cushions which I also promise not to do again in the future. I have also been busy making some of my xmas pressies / wedding pressie this year hence my absence but hopefully after xmas life will settle down a bit and I can get back to doing some more work with less time constraints.


My lovely friend Audrey is getting married next week and some of her forum buddies in the UK and Dublin got together to make her a little something. I had been inspired by what I saw on Julie van Oosten's blog and thought I could get some of Audrey's creative friends to do something similar. I have to admit to being delighted with the results and almost not giving it to her. I think she kinda liked it :-)))




This is what I made for Audrey and which my lovely hubby thought I should 'do the right thing' and buy her a proper pressie lol. The background is some silk paper I made some time back at a workshop which I then stamped and embroidered on to it and I am very happy with how it turned out.


























It was a busy month for Audrey as it was also her birthday, so I made her birthday card too...


















And Finally........................... I have literally just finished making this hanging for my mum for xmas, the tips of my fingers are still numb but its worth it. I'm pleased with how it looks but I think in the future I will make something a little more abstract to this piece, its exactly how I had planned it but I'm not sure if its something I would want to re-create.









Hopefully during the holidays I will work my busy little fingers to some wonderfully creative work and get back into a routine of blogging again. Thanks for dropping by and do pop back again soon :0))

Some workshop work

Well, I had promised a few people I would post what I have been making at the workshops I have taken recently. None of these are completed works but I'm at the learning stages for a lot of textiles work and its fun. I did a silk papermaking class in Lisburn last saturday which I really enjoyed. I did have a play also when I got home to make sure I knew what I was doing but it didn't turn out just I had expected. I think the thickness of the paste might make a bit of a difference so more experimenting needed. Also 2 weeks ago I did some quilting practice and felt beads at a workshop in Dublin which was endless fun, especially when doing it with some friends. The felt beads/millefiori were great fun as I had no idea at all what they would turn out like. I will have to master this art and incorporate all my litte pieces into 'something'. I'm begining to wonder if I will ever make that final 'something' at this stage. Off to London this weekend and then for my final textiles class next week so hopefully more techniques will be on offer. Oh yes, I did have a play with some potatoe mash and bleach on linen which I absolutely loved and have to try to incorporate this into something soon also. :0))))))

Textile Translations - Maggie Grey

Have any of you bought this book and tried the free online classes? Its definitely a must if you love to experiment with something new. I bought the book at the Knit & Stitch a week or so ago and have been busting to get all I needed together to have a play and join in the classes. This is my work which is as yet unfinished. I absolutely loved trying these techniques out. I was even more delighted to find what was left behind on my blotting paper which I used to dry out my vilene, the image is so colourful I will use this in another piece of work. TFL....

This for me was the bonus of the experiment.

One Powerful Hour

The Challenge this week at One Powerful Hour is an xmas ornament. Joanne is guest designer and is being sponsored by Inka to give away a beautiful xmas stamp. Why not jump on over and have a look and a play :0). This is my effort which I had promised Joanne I would do this week. Have fun......

Tote, paper, stitch, metal and broken needles.

Two posts in the one weekend????? Whats going on............. Well, I think I have been bitten big time by the textiles bug. I'm loving it. Last year at the Knit & Stitch show I bought a book called Bags, with Paper & Stitch by Isobel Hall, its a fabulous book with amazing techniques using paper and fabric and stitch, obviously, lol. Anyway, one bag in particular always caught my eye and this weekend, yup, for almost 2 days, I had a go and made a large tote. I am off to the Knit & Stitch this coming weekend so I needed a large sturdy tote to carry all my new stuff that I will splurge on and this is definitely sturdy. Its curtain/upholstery fabric and I can you tell I broke a few needles. It was worth it though as this was fun and definitely a satisfying result for me.

textile box update

Well, I wasn't at all happy with my little textile box which I had last posted about so I decided to alter it. I took my trusty heat gun to it, added some beads, more organza and a lovely little bird in a cage sitting on a fabric bead all stitched inside the 'birdhouse' which is what it is now. In reality, it doesn't look like a torn old bag as it does in the photo but its hard to capture the true colour and texture. I'm a lot happier with it as it is now but think a lot more of these will be produced/developed. :0)))) cLick the image for a more detailed view if you wish.

I havn't got lost

I had almost forgotten how to blog.............. Only kidding. I thought I might show you some of the items I have been playing with over the past weeks. I have recently started an online City and Guilds course wtih Linda Kemshall so I have been spending some of my dark evenings preparing the first module. Isn't it hard to get into the swing of things on dark evenings? or maybe its just me. (Thanks to my lovely sister I should have no excuses as she bought me a day light lamp) . Joanne recently made a lovely tea towel tote (or 565 lol) and I thought I would like to give these a go. You will find instructions here on this lady's blog if you are tempted, be warned, you may have to go on a major tea towel spending spree/hunt. Once the bug for trying this was over I had a play at making some jewellery which I had spied in a catalogue but they were an absolute fortune so I have made my version of them. AND lastly, I attended a 'Moving on with textiles' intensive workshop just yesterday at the Draoicht in Blanchardstown and I can tell you I had a fun fun fun day. There were 2 fantastic tutors who were teaching us how to do 3d embroidery, they did have a challenge I have to admit but it was worth it. My pieces here are not what I had envisaged they would turn out like at all but I am very happy to have learned so many techniques that I will definitely refine my next attempts. So, thank you for dropping by and catching up, hopefully it wont be as long until I blog again, but the next few weeks are filled with more fantastic textile workshops and I'm helping out at the Mega Scrap too but I'll be back :0)