I just had to get organized......

My son gave me a call asking if I would like any filing cabinets for my studio.  I had to mull it over for all of 2 seconds and said, 'yes' to just two - so we had a 200 mile journey to go and collect them on Sunday.

My studio was getting packed and cluttered - it still is a bit as I have yet more sorting out to do.

 

This is just one end of it - about a third.  I have all the baskets to sort out yet.

But I have managed to free up a lot of drawer space - and tomorrow I am going to do the other end too!  The brolly is needed so that I don't get soaked on raining days dashing back indoors!

I have filled all the drawers up in the cabinets - wish I had asked for more!

At last - something I can post - a fabric postcard!

At last, I can actually show a bit of artwork that I have had a chance to complete.

I have a number of projects with polymer clay that are 'works in progress', all experiments.

The majority of my time  has been spent working up my allotment and in the garden, and cooking, freezing, and processing the produce - of which is a freezer full!

I put my name down for a swap - the title was a 'Textured Fabric Postcard.'

I received mine at the very beginning of the month - shock - horror!

It looked nothing like the one I had in my mind to make, but I decided to go ahead and do it anyway.

When I think of fabric and textures, I think of all the textures of clothing.

So this Dressmaker's Sampler was made with that intention.

The vintage lady is stamped on a piece of very fine 1930's cream silk that has permanent random vertical 'creases' in to the material - that's the reason why in the photo there are dark looking patches - it's shadows from the lighting - I should have had a spotlight from above!  In 'real life' it is gorgeous fine cream silk -just amazing-and feels so soft and silky and feminine - wish I had more than just a small sample.  It's so fine that I didn't dare sew to on - but used 'poppers' and metal eyelets, and just frayed the edges.

I have included suggestions of different fabrics - each one a different  texture/material  - silk, satin, cotton, woven brocade, embroidered, beaded, velvet, even a peice of dark brown suede.

There are tiny metallic beads on her hat and on a fine peice of netting that turn different shades of blue to purple as the light catches them.  Different colours of vintage embroidery threads, and coloured studs.  Three different tiny wooden beads - accessories for necklaces, and a vintage mother of pearl button too.

There are so many different textures to feel and experience from the backing, a thick woven tweed,  to the coolness of the metals, and beads, to running your finger up and down the row of samples.  

It's taken me two days and about eight hours to make - I wish I wasn't such a slow coach - perhaps I should have painted a piece of fabric instead and stuck on some bits and pieces to give it texture - I think perhaps that was what was intended. 

Oh dear I hope this will do!

Bedroom door plaque

 

I had my darling little grandson visit for the weekend with his dad and mum.

Apart from all the cooking he did - and lots of other fun stuff - we spent a couple of hours in the studio playing.

The plaque to his bedroom door is broken he told me  it only says L  E.  It came from a shop.

So I asked if he'd like to make his own one.

We used a piece of mountboard - about 8 inches by 6 inches.

He just loves metallic paints - so he painted the board bright gold!

And he wanted specific dinasaur pictures to paint so we searched the internet for colouring in pictures and he chose these.  

He was very particular which colours he wanted to paint them too (after I had explained that if he painted them gold, silver and bronze you wouldn't see the detail underneath)

I won't pretend that he cut them out - because he didn't - he's only six years old!  So I cut them out for him - and together we stuck them on.

He likes to play with polymer clay and he wanted to make his name with it - so he chose the colours himself, conditioned the clay in the pasta machine, then rolled sausages to make letters.

He squashed them with his hand to make the backs flat, and hey presto, when they were baked and cooled we stuck them on!

His daddy is going to fit it to his bedroom door!

....And there was me, thinking that it would be a 15 minute playtime painting a door hanger from my stash. I think that this is far nicer.

------------------------------------------------------

I can't resist telling you something funny that he came out with yesterday - I love the things children say.

Grandad was rubbing his leg, and L said,

 'Why are you rubbing your leg grandad?'

'Because it itches'

'Why does it itch'

'Because I have a gnat bite'

'What's a gnat?'

'The are little insects that bite you'

'Do you mean bed bugs?'

'No!!!! You don't get bed bugs these days'

'Why do bugs bite you then?'

'Because they like people with rich blood'

' I'm rich grandad, I've £80 in my savings account'

(Grandad took him out to he compost bin and took off the lid and showed him the fruit flies to explain the sort of flies he meant.  We didn't fancy him telling his mum and dad that grandad had been bitten by bed bugs!)

 

I made myself a handbag this morning.........

I had a fabulous time making myself a handbag this morning.

My back is killing me from standing up so long working on it - and it's baking hot here today too!

 

It was an experiment - so it's not perfect!

 

And it was a bit complicated - I was a little rushed for time  - just over two hours.  

I have now bent the lime green wire on the handles so that it matches both sides, since the photo was taken and evened up the poppy seed heads too.

 

With the foliage and lavender from the garden, and a bunch of roses from the supermarket

It's not bad is it?

 

I think I like this side best and it was the easier of the two sides to make - just noticed that I didn't have time to put silver pins in the right hand side - I'll do that immediately.

So what did I used to make it?

Two blocks of oasis foam glued together with a heated glue gun

Aspidistera leaves

Eleagnus leaves - reversed

Foliage from the garden

Lavender from the garden

Crocosmia leaves plaited for the handles

A £2 bunch of roses from the supermarket

A packet of pins

Must dash - family arriving any minute

 

Where have all the days gone?

Time is flying by and it's been a whirl of appointments, hard work up my quarter acre allotment, harvesting, cooking, filling the freezer for winter, oh and gardening, weeding, pruning, lawn mowing, cleaning chickens who are moulting making their run look like a feather duvet has burst - the list is endless.

But - on the music front I had my second lesson last Friday and another tomorrow - I am using both hands! (Badly)  I have had to cut my long nails shorter than they have ever been before - sigh - I guess a little sacrifice will be worth it in the end.

I actually went for an 'arty' day out on Sunday - to the Anglia Polymer Clay Guild - over the border into Suffolk - I know, brave aren't I!   So if you live in East Anglia and want to get together with like minded polymer clay enthusiasts - then that's the place to go.

Enid gave a super demo using acrylic inks on polymer clay - and the use of foil on polymer clay too.

 It was a great day out, and I met lots of new people, who share tips and knowlege generously

 There were some youngsters there too  - lots of concentration going on

Lots of  great makes displayed on the table, 

Here are just a few that caught my eye

All colours and styles

 And all made from polymer clay

 The work that has gone into this bracelet

and matching necklace!

The next meeting is in two months' time!

Get in touch if you fancy going - it's only £3 for the day.

Advice taken - regarding the altered box plus..........

I just wanted to thank everyone for their honest opinion of my art work - and especially regarding the box I altered.

I added a smidgen of gold rub and buff to the translucent polymer clay 'plaits' and it's made all the difference - so thanks for that.

I thought you might like to see my latest hobby!

At the ripe old age of 60 something, I have decided to have a go at something that I have always wanted to do -learn to play the piano. 

And yes - well spotted - this is a state of the art Yamaha keyboard - it's one that I have borrowed from the lady who is teaching me - but I have been lucky to find one, like new, on the Internet.

I had one lesson yesterday - and despite my bent fingers and on of my little ones which tucks under the next one - my tutor reckons that I will do well.

The hour was spent talking to me, explaining things about the keyboard, making a list of things I need to buy, and as she is convinced I will be able to play, I've bitten the bullet and bought the equipment!

I expect a lot of you must play something - or did at school - all that passed me by, so I am starting right from the beginning! How to read music - yikes.

I spent an hour in my garden studio where I have the keyboard - our home is too tiny to house it in here - and finally mastered the first page that I was given of a tune.  My homework was to learn the first line!

With no instructions with this one - I have been having a play, and found that it plays songs all on its own - so I can pretend!  It has a whole orchestra of instruments everything you can think of!  It'll be amazing if I can manage to bash out a recognisable tune!

So from now on, once a week, I'll be having a lesson - and maybe by Christmas I'll be able to play something to entertain my family or at least my grandson.  Or is that being too ambitious.

Little Luke is 6 and learning to play the guitar at school - we could form a group !

Flower Arranging

 I have joined a NAFAS flower club in a town near me. It meeets once a month and each meeting you get to watch a top flower arranger.  I was lucky to win the above flower arrangement in a raffle.  It's a big arrangement and as I live in a little bungalow I decided to make several small ones from it today.

 For this arrangement I used the green chrysanthemums, some yellow rubeckia flowers from my garden, and some fatsia leaves from a shrub I have, together with some of the foliage from the original arrangement.

 I need to add some red foliage to this orchid arrangement or red flowers to match the flower centres and enhance the beauty of the flower centres - it's a bit too green at the moment.

 I have made this for a new friend, who is going to attempt to teach me how to play a keyboard!

I have added flowers from my garden to the carnations, and included lavender, rosemary, ice plant, and fern.

It smells absolutely gorgeous!

I'm feeling pretty nervous at the prospect of my first lesson - 'trying to teach an old dog new tricks' proverb springs to mind!  And learning to read music - yikes.   It might be the shortest lesson in history!  But Coral reckons that she CAN teach me to play and that she is very patient - bless her - she'll need patience - watch this space!