Flower Arranging

Well I was in for a bit of a surprise at our monthly flower arranging workshop.  It was a nice distraction working there - you can just concentrate on what you are doing and your brain switches off to everything else.

I was given a large and a small foam ball and some foliage.

What would you do with those?

 

With some pins from my tool box, I used Laurel leaves back to front because I loved the underside best

And layered them around and around  overlapping them as they would in nature - I liked the effect.

My tutor said that it looks like an artichoke - that was a compliment by the way!

 

The smaller one - using the same laurel leaves but the right way around and randomly.

 With the addition of some flowering foliage

 

A bit of conifer from behind the hall

 

A couple of red baubles (not my idea)

 

Some wild ivy with berry heads

 

Popped in  here and there

 

Finished off with some sweet smelling pinks and 7 roses in bud

Finished!

Sorry about the photos - it was too dark to that them indoors and so I had to try and take some in the garden room with a glass roof and the arrangement on a glass table - not a good idea!

I know it's not art but this made me laugh, and made my husband jump!

I was just finishing posting on my blog when my husband shouted 'Oi' - something had landed with a thunk on top of the roof where he was sitting, and giving  him the beady eye!

 

Can you see who is tapping on the window?

It's none other than........

 

Zola Buddy Bantam - her namesake was a runner who always ran barefoot.

She obviously thought that it was time her and the others got fed.

The clocks have gone back - so the bantams queue up outside the door at 3.45pm now - which in their body clock is their usual feeding time of 4.45pm

Gozzie - who is a black Rosecomb bantam has the habit of sitting on the windowsill and tapping on the window to tell us that they want feeding.  She also does it when we are eating too!

 

This is a new trick for Zola!   I'll have to clip her wings again.

I called her down when I went out...

 

And she flew right across the lawn, almost to where their run is - in an attempt to get to the food first!

Cheeky thing.

From Trash to Treasure Art- Giveaway

Do you follow Lin Stevens blog?  I do, and she makes and transforms the most amazing things - wish she did online workshops on how to alter the things she has posted about today.

I couldn't believe my eyes when she announced that she is giving all the items on show to some lucky folks who enter her three year blog anniversary giveaway.    Why not go and have a drool at her lovely work - and enter her giveaway.  
 
Thanks for the chance to enter Lin  -  and good luck everyone

I did it ! - First course under my belt! Jewellery Making

 

This is my very best friend in all the world.   Last time when I visited her to say our 'Goodbyes' there were some things she asked me to do - and I promised I would.

One of Kath's hobbies was jewellery making - she was brilliant at it - so here is one of the things I am doing for Kath

As if by some miracle a couple of weeks after she passed, a note came with the village magazine announcing a new venture just a couple of miles outside our village - and I went along on their opening day last week signed up for my first lesson at Raggle Taggle Beads, which I had on Tuesday morning.

And this is where I went

 It's on a farm site with some other units

In the peaceful countryside but easy to get to by car

 Deborah - my lovely and very talented tutor

 I literally felt like a kiddie in a sweet shop

But these were all beads!

I took these photos yesterday when I popped back to pick up a few more supplies.

I had the most amazing time - I was so nervous - I left with a blinding headache from all the concentration etc - but with such a joy in my heart.   I wanted to dash indoors and get straight onto the computer to email Kath - as we always did - then it hit me!   But I am sure that she had a hand in all this!  These are my first efforts.

 

Wire winding - with shaky hands!

I really did have a struggle with these but persevered.   I am not really an earring person, but having made some I think I am hooked.   I chose lovely emerald green glass beads - Kath's favourite colour.  They look so bright in natural light and really glisten and reflect the light.  I can certainly see things wrong with these - but they are my first efforts and the 'not quite right' wiring doesn't show when they are on my ears - and I'll be wearing them with pride thinking of Kath.

 

Phew - with the first task out of the way, I started to relax a bit and Deborah and I were chatting away easily.  She moved to our village so we had lots of things to talk about.    Here is my next piece of work - rather ambitious I thought - but it's a pendant.  I just love the little magnetic 'clasps' it takes away all that fiddling with awkward fasteners.  Mind you I did get into a bit of a pickle wiring those - I kept dropping them and they attracted the chain so ended up each time with a little pile to prise off.

 

Would you believe that I photographed this on the same suede cloth as before - but the colour's gone peculiar.   Still learning wirework, I chose this lovely hand painted bead for a pendant.  The painting both sides was painted in pearlised paint - with gold outlines.  I just love it!  Kath and I both bought a set of paints in these very colours!  I used beads top and bottom with the same colours - it's hard to see, but when the light catches them they look luminescent - like looking in a puddle and seeing all those rainbow colours.

Next

 

I liked the look of these square black beads, as they will go with a lot of my outfits.  I used the pearlised beads again - in blue and green - on the right there are a couple that caught the light but they all look gorgeous and really change colours in the sunshine.  It was quite a challenge making the bracelet - again I am not a wearer of bracelets - just have one very thin platinum one that my son bought me after he got married - and it's on permanently.   This one complements it as it's silver too, and it is so comfortable to wear - quite a challenge measuring up doing the wire work both ends - but I am getting better.  This afternoon I made the little earrings to match - and after downloading a 'how to' set of pictures, I actually found it so much easier.   It does take a bit of practice!

 

This is a lovely chunky but soft and tactile polymer clay heart which I fell in love with and bought to make my final piece of the lesson

 

I love it!  I am always rummaging around in my handbag looking for my car keys.  

This heart is so easy to find and feels lovely to the touch.  In the enlarged picture above I can see that I need to bend the loop at the bottom straight!

 

I bought myself the blue set of tools from Diane - and am going back for another lesson on Tuesday.  The other bits and bobs I have had for years - with the intention for including them in altered art - but never accomplishing it.  It's amazing how much I found when I had a rummage and I can use lots on this hobby.   I have put them all in a tool  box now as you can see - so I can look in here first before buying more stuff!  And I'll be on the look out for junk jewellery that I can turn into a new creation.

Chatting away about different things, I mentioned about the silver clay course I had booked - and by pure coincidence, Diane had met artist at the weekend and had some of her leaflets.  They had stands side by side at an Exhibition in Norwich!  

My lesson was supposed to be an hour - but we were chatting away for so long whilst working - about lots of aspects of jewellery making, and I got to hear/learn about some of the techniques in silver clay jewellery (which Diane can do, so I hope to persuade her to fit some lessons in after the Christmas rush - she's incredibly busy at the moment filling orders etc) Another talent of hers - she has so many in all fields of art and craft - is working with polymer clay - so I hope to twist her arm for lessons in that too next year.

Oops nearly forgot this

 Perfect Scents

 Deirdre's hand made soaps and toiletries.

 

I used to make soaps and skin creams using, amongst other things, beeswax from the village beekeeper.   Things have moved on quite a bit from when I made them, and I won't have to bulk buy any more now that we have a supplier so near our village - no mail order costs to pay.

So - yes you have guessed - I am booking a lesson to try something new with Deirdre on 16th.

Off to flower arranging tomorrow!

Odd sized art - received back.

Today there was a nice surprise in the post - I received three odd sized pieces of art in exchange for the ones I made in the previous post.  All different materials and textures used - thank you so much ladies.

This one has a friendly plastic embellishment on it which really catches the light - no name on the reverse.

This one is from Adrienne - one of the ladies who hosts the forum

And this one is from Kathryn

 

Odd sized art

Well I have made a start by  joining in an 'odd sized art' swap.   The size I found awkward to do -
13.5cm x 6.5cm.

 

It's a three for three swap.

For 'Auriculas' above I glued a vintage book page onto thick card and built up the layers.

 

This one has a vintage print, which I framed in a faux wood frame (it's made of cardboard and I have layered on different coloured inks until I got the effect I wanted.)  It's meant to convey a picture on display in an art gallery in France - hence the vintage type faded 'wallpaper' it's displayed on.

 

I stamped the backing paper, used a torn image from an old newspaper stamped across the bottom, added a small stamp in the bottom left hand corner - and just had to use the sentiment stamp I found in a bag of old mixed rubber stamps - it really appealed to me.

They went in the post this afternoon - and I made another one for me later.

( I don't think I have much if any of my artwork - I seem to join in swaps and send it all off!)

I have just finished the above for myself.

Inked and stamped paper (a Crafty Individuals letter stamp).  A torn vintage image, a row of lace top and bottom which I coloured to tone in with the paper - and the paper flower which I coloured dark brown but looks rather red in the photo just to finish it off.

Thank you Sam for the nudge and the lovely RAKS tags you sent me, I really appreciate your kindness

One large kick up the rear applied!

Well how do you get your mojo going again huh?   I have been searching for ways to force me to do things - apart from staying indoors - and working myself to a standstill in the garden.


So yesterday  I took the plunge and found a new venue yesterday, which has just opened in a 'lock up' on a farm near me, and have signed up for a one to one beading session the first day in November. 

My best friend loved beading and made such beautiful things, that I thought I just had to have a go.  If I learn the basics, then I can go arty crafty and put my own stamp/take on things - which will be good.

Years ago, I used to make lots of soaps and body creams using beeswax from the village beekeeper - but bars of soap seem to have gone out of 'fashion' - and there are only so many bars you can use if you do like it!  Sharing the unit I visited yesterday was another lady who makes organic hand washes, and hand lotions, and one of them uses goats milk - perfect - and no, it doesn't smell of goats, she uses oils too.   So I have signed up for a one to one lesson with her too.

And the third thing I have done is to sign up for Mary Greens Christmas Glue Book Class  which went online early this morning.   There is a link to her site in my right hand column.    I have paid for the course, downloaded the information, printed out the images and backing paper sheets, and am raring to go!   The first lesson starts on November 6th.   If you like Vintage Victorian - you'll love this.

I don't want to give too many secrets away - but after the course, you'll have time to use the images for Christmas cards and other projects too.  And they are not too 'twee' and are from Mary's own collections.  Pop over and have a look