Just a few more

 

I do not seem to have done very much art lately  as the dogs were taking up my time.

I have made 10 more since this was taken.

I am taking part in my first circle journal swap starting in February, I find this quite daunting as I will be adding my art to someone else's which is quite a responsibility.

I have got as far as making my journal ,but knowing me I may change it before we start.

That is a circle cut from the front, done with my Sizzix of course.

I struggled with last months prompt for the monthly journal pages,Liz over at Milliande does a great job with this swap but I really had to think hard.

Inner Critic depicted as a monster

and a page about something we take for granted

I chose birds for this because when I returned home yesterday i was greeted by a Robin singing which was wonderful.

These pages are going to Beckie in the USA and it is her first swap,because I was not truly happy with them I have done a extra one,

Which I am happy with.

Trine over at  http://timeout-trine.blogspot.com/  will be doing guided hiking tours in Scotland next year ,please check out her website

http://www.timeouttravel.dk/tot/forsiden.html

Trine ask the members of our circle group to create a page incorporating the words Time Out, and using a specified list of supplies.

This was my first attempt which is OK ,I thought I was being clever using a page from a map of the destination area

I think it is a little washed out,

Then on reading the list again I saw that we could use acrylics,so I made another one.

A little more colour this time.

Last winter when we had a burst pipe a lot of my paintings got very wet ,but this little lady survived ,and she is now brightening up my kitchen.

And of course this other little Lady will be in my care tomorrow,and as you can see she is a budding artist.

When she leaves I am spending the afternoon demonstrating my Sizzix to a friend who has just bought one for herself.

And just to finish I would like to say thank  you  to Jackie Nicholls from Texas one of my Facebook friends who sent a lovely card and letter to my mother and made her day.

Just Photos

 

A few random photos of Little Miss X and various crafty bits,

This is the outdoor  piece I did earlier in the year ,just pigment and binder left out in a storm.

and this is another large piece in the same colours for the other wall

I poured gesso over the canvas and added bird stencils,mesh etc. and then pigment and ink.

I produced a litter of puppies

which grew and grew

I started a wall hanging by embellishing  fleece fabric with silk fibres

I received a surprise package from Liz in Honduras, with colourful stamps

And inside was a wonderful hand made journal and tag

And a queen from Lois in Massachusetts

also  from Massachusetts

a prayer flinchie from Sadie

And the rest of my time has been taken up with Little Miss X

It is amazing what fun a one year old can have with a box of scarves.

Blackbird And Pouches

Last Saturday  Kalona             http://kalonacreativity.blogspot.com/   posted photos of small pouches she had made .It was quite late in the evening when I saw them but I just had to have a go, the fact that Kalona said they could be made in 15 mins. was just too tempting .
I followed her guidelines for the first one using wet wipes as part of the construction and in fact these give a wonderful texture.
then I made one using  a piece of what I believe is vintage Laura Ashley fabric

I was getting a little carried away at this point and decided to stitch a heart on  the front. But the fact that  it was very late and I was tired , it ended up upside down on the back.
So  Monday/  Tuesday I made a few more


Each one a little different and I was able to practice making buttonholes.
Thank you Kalona
Early this morning I heard the familiar bang of a bird hitting our large patio windows. Judging by the sound I knew it was larger bird than normal and I could hardly bring myself to go and look. I was right it was beautiful blackbird ,and at first glance I thought she was dying as she was on her side with blood coming from her mouth. She was twisting and shaking and in great distress,I could not leave her in the exposed position so I picked her up and placed her in ivy so she could die in peace.

This is a poor photo but you can just make out the blood from her mouth.
As I had little Miss X with me  , I was unable to go check until a little while later,
but she was breathing much better.

and a few hours later, on checking she had moved right into the ivy,probably to keep dry and warm ,as it was a miserable day.  I went to smooth her and she moved then fluttered a little further down the path.it was such a great feeling , and I told her as she disappeared into a shrub that I wanted a extra special song from her tomorrow.

A little bit of this and that.

Looking after Little Miss  X is exhausting ,and therefore the crafting has been put on hold, but I still managed to get swaps out and have received some great items in return.
Over at milliande Lois hosted a Halloween swap with inchies (even though she was VERY VERY busy at the time) Thank you Lois for a great swap and the extras you sent with the cards.

It really is amazing what you can fit on one square inch.
Patty hosted a windows themed ATC swap.

Thank you Pam  and Marie, and to Patty for hosting .
And Pandora hosted a Halloween Wonderland ATC swap

Thank you  Mary,Marilyn and Christine for the ATCs and to Pandora for the tag and extras.
I sent Journal pages  to Australia which unfortunately I forgot to photograph.
And I received these wonderful pages from Lucine in the Netherlands.


Lucine is new to this monthly swap ,but I hope she continues as these pages are great fun.
I also have made a Prayer flinchie which will be going to Sonja in Serbia,I will post photos after it arrives.
And although I hate to admit to NOT being a Christmas person, well not the over commercialised side of it I did have a sudden urge to make an Advent calendar for Little Miss X.



I have made it like a  bag with pockets,so  the Christmas Day pocket  will be the bag . Each pocket is 3 inches square so there is plenty of room for little treats.And of course the Sizzix came in very handy for cutting out the numbers, which I cut from a check shirt which my husband had put out for recycling.
In my last post I mentioned that I had cut flowers from felt and  was going to make brooches and hair pins, well I did and they are going very well in the local post office with many be purchased for Remembrance Sunday I hope everyone is also putting a donation in for the British Legion.
And here is Little Miss X wearing hers at the two  minute Silence we attended yesterday.


This photo looks like she has someone else's hand  but I had to give her a biscuit just in case she decided to shout.
While we are on the subject of things on her head ,The BBC do a annual fundraising event, Children In Need  which raises funds for home and abroad. Last year it raised over 18 million pounds which is quite amazing as most people are finding things quite hard. A lot of money is now made from merchandise and I could not resist these Pudsey ears.

Pudsey Bear is the mascot of Children In Need.
Little Miss X also attended her first Firework party last week  with her Mummy and Daddy ,with yet more head gear

I am so pleased she went to this display, because they were going to Devon,but changed their plans. Had they gone to Devon there is a chance they would have witnessed one of Britain's worst motorway crashes.
At about the time they would have been passing 35 vehicles were involved in a horrific crash ,leaving 7 dead and 54 injured,mainly due to the fire which engulfed the vehicles.We travel this stretch of motorway about once a month ,and this accident just off the slip road brings home the fact ,how careful you have to be  SO PLEASE DO NOT TAIL GATE.
My thoughts go out to all involved.
I know Halloween is over but I just have to post this photo of  my younger Son and his partner taken when they took part in a Zombie walk.