Tag Swap Part 3

This beautiful tag arrived today - it was from Deb Jensen in the US. It is just absolutely gorgeous - she printed out vintage pics onto an inkjet sheet - and embellished with a silk ribbon, lace, sequins and more. Lovely. Will have to post pics of my other two tags tommorrow as I left them at the shop.

Visitors

Had a lovely visit from Marilyn and Erica today. Both confessed to having the procrastinations at the moment. I'd been meaning to ask Erica how to do the groovy hyperlink thing - she told me so in honour of her sharing her groovy blogging/surfing/internet secrets I am going to test the first link - so if you want to visit Erica just click on her name. Ooo - cool it works!

Tags Part 2

Here is one of the tags I made - it says on the back "Make time for friends" as I believe friendships need time invested into them to make them work. It's easy to take a friendship for granted and it's easy for women to let the busyness of each day suck up all the available time. So carve out some time to connect - whether it's a phone call, an email, a meal together or a movie.

Brads for the Flat Doll

Majorie (lovely person from Kiwi-land) asked about the brads used in the flat dolls - well Majorie - here are the pics as promised. Showing a close up of the front and the back. You can find these type of things in scrapbooking shops (or of course at Idyll Pleasures - greatest shop in the entire universe).

Well you've got to have friends.....

I belong to many online groups - one of which is hosted by Patti Culea for people who have her Tome patterns. We all enthusiastically signed up to do a tag swap as the fabric journal has bits and pieces that one can add to it. I am in a Group with 4 others and my first tag arrived yesterday from Liz Waechter who hails from Kansas. Here is a pic of the tag she sent - it is absolutely gorgeous.

Liz wrote a little letter to go with the tag - here is some of what she said, "Most people walk in and out of your life. But only friends leave footprints in your heart". The techniques Liz used on her tag include machine embroidery, fabric collage, angelina fibre, hand stitching using variegated thread, tyvek painted and heat treated for beads and decorative elements.

Today is the mail date - mine need (ahem) a bit of finishing off before I mail - but I think I'll get there!

Butterflies are free

OK - just to prove that I am not totally obsessed with needlefelting - here is a quilt I have started using Jane Sassaman's fabrics (the Jane's Paradise Garden range). I love her fabrics - they are great for kaleideoscope quilts (not that I'm that clever) beautiful bright and loud! Here is the centre block and a corner block - so far so good.

Coffee with Friends

One of the things I do is moderate an online Doll Group called DDU (Dollies Down Under). We had a ribbon challenge and the prize was a bundle of ribbons from the shop. The winner was Rhonda and she was sweet enough to make me this coffee cup cuff using some of the trims from her winnings. Very cool and will come in handy for my takeaway cappuccinos.

The Needlefelted Ent

Very early last year or possibly even 2005 (where does the time go) - I had it in mind to make an Ent - you know - Treebeard from Lord of the Rings? Well it rumbled around in my brain for a long time - wasn't sure what medium to use - all offered potential but also had drawbacks. Also Every-Other-Bugger suddenly seemed to come out with a tree/dryad pattern or something that was the epitome of what was dancing around in my brain. Not that I can imagine Treebeard dancing - but I digress. Anyhoo.....

I launched in with great enthusiasm to make a wrapped wire armature. Good start. I did start needlefelting it but it was so damned big. That's a lot of needlefelting you know - I also didn't have the right colours so I stopped - for about a year. Then came the great needlefelting renaissance I am currently undergoing. So I pulled that sucker out and have kept going (the wizard has been thrust aside with his one boob still attached). Haven't finished yet but have started on the face. It still looks quite young at this point as it needs lots of wrinkles etc.. It may also end up becoming a troll/ forest looking creature. These things are very organic and have a mind of their own you know. Anyway here it is in progress.

For examples of other tree/Ent dolls etc that are just divine see Jean Bernard, Pixie Willow, Birgitte Krag-Hansen and Julie McCullough

Shaylee - Flat Doll

The Stitches and Craft Show is a month away - a thought that fills me with terror. I am doing a hands on workshop for the ipoddess I designed late last year (how many kits should I prepare - I don't know!). I am also doing a free seminar on using the Jacquard range of products. Great. Except I need samples. Hmm. When do you suppose I am going to get around to doing that I wonder? Anyway - the very lovely Patti Culea (dollmaker extraordinaire and all round nice person) gave me permission to use her Shaylee flat doll - I made it up - very quick and easy. Here she is - that's sample 1 - now for sample 2. And 3. And so on. If you'd like to give Shaylee a try you can find the instruction sheet here

Sweet Friends

Aren't friends the best? I have 5 friends with whom I meet regularly - we didn't quite get it together enough to have our annual Christmas dinner this year due to various complicated reasons - so we are getting together tommorrow night. We all draw a name out of a hat and buy a gift for that person on behalf of the group. But I saw these cute little bags of sugar hearts and just had to buy them one each - because I have such sweet friends!

Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas - Part 2

Claire received this belly dancing outfit from her cousin Jasmine just before Christmas - I bought her the belt to go with it so she would jangle as she wriggled her butt. She was belly dancing while Dad and Grandpa slumbered on. Ahh for the energy of a 6 year old.

Ho Ho Ho - Merry Christmas!

I love cheesy Christmas commercials that make Christmas day look like something out of a Martha Stewart Living magazine. Ain't the reality much more - well - real? Here is a picture of an annual occurrence in our family. The men crash out after lunch worn out from all that hard work - you know buying all the presents, staying up till midnight wrapping them all, buying all the food, hanging the decorations and trimming the tree, getting the kids scrubbed, dressed and ready for church, setting the table and serving the food and then cleaning it all up afterwards. Huh - what's that? Oh yes - the WOMEN do all that. Which is why this scene always sends my mother's eyeballs rolling heavenward.

The Rose

Needed a break from the complexity of the Wizard so made up this little felted rose. My mum taught me to make sugar roses years ago - so I applied the same principle and came up with the needlefelted rose. It would make a great brooch with a simple brooch back attached. It is currently being held by the green troll I made previously.

I'm a needlefelting addict

Ok Ok! I confess I am addicted to needlefelting! Here is something else I made - although he's not finished yet. He started life as a witch but somehow turned into a bloke and is now on his way to being a wizard. At the moment he's doing a great impersonation of John the Baptist as he's only a head - but that should change (he now has a stump body and a single shoulder which prompted my 6 year old to laughter asking why he had one boobie?) I've used a skin colouring technique as I don't like the plainess of the cookie colour for skin (too flat looking). Mixing up the colours really gives a good palette. Here is another shot into his mouth he has teeth and a tongue. The bottom of the mouth is actually movable - you can manipulate it by inserting two fingers from behind and working the chin up and down. Cool!