home sweet home

Made these today, using my new die that arrived from ebay.  I appliqued onto calico using vintage Laura Ashley fabric that I bought in Aberystwyth indoor market.  Will embroider and frame them tomorrow.  Frames IKEA-NYTTJA 21 x 30.  Sizzix die 656718, Cross-cuts  House#3.

Birthday invitations

I made these for a sweet little girl...

Recipe:  Sizzix die - handbag Bigz XL, flower sizzlit #11, papers - various including: ProvoCraft Doodlecharms, K & Company - Sparkly sweet.

More cards

I knew this die would be cute..

Recipe: White cardstock, paper recycled Kraft card, The Sweet Stack, Sizzix House, gingerbread 38-0234, Card scallop as before, boy and girl trim - Hobbycraft.

cards

I made a card for a new baby last week and decided to make some more...

I personalised the card with her name on a tag.

Recipe:  Rough brown kraft card 250gms  - Green Stationary Company UK, Papermill assorted paper, Sizzix dies - XL Onesie 655379, Sizzlit medium owl 656702,  Sizzlit flower #8, Sizzlit hearts w/lace, Sizzix XL Card - scallop 655419, duck from Baby set#4, 655300, Cuttlebug Swiss dots embossing folder.

Screenprinting

I attended an evening course at Cardiff University. www.csad.uwic.ac.uk/coas I actually fancied doing a letterpress course after purchasing an Adana 5 x 3, but there were none on at the time.  Anyhow what fun!

This is my hand-cut stencil print. I know, the chickens- it's a bit of a theme!

This is the preparation for the photo resist screenprint. First I messed around in Photoshop with some paper, then made a collage before scanning it into the computer again.

This screen took 7 layers/passes! ahh!  Some didn't work at all. All trial and error I suppose.

Whilst I don't have a giant exposure unit, like the one in Uni, I do have a Gocco....but that's another post..

National Woollen Museum - Bunting

We visited Melin Tregwynt - a great selection of beautiful blankets. We went on a Sunday, so the mill wasn't running.http://www.melintregwynt.co.uk/, but I bought some blanket remnants. 

Then onto The National Woollen Museum.  
www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/wool/ The guide was great - he turned on the machines as we were going around - we were too early for the official tour. What a great museum - I will definately return...to get more fabric!!

The background fabric is a piece that I've had for a while - Melin Tregwnt.  The 4 pieces are Melin Teifi.  http://www.melinteifi.com/ which is at the Woollen Museum.  I've adapted my Russian doll die for these 'Welsh ladies in waiting'....bunting I think.

It's coming along....

I added seed beads for eyes, zig zag edge and a felt daffodil.

Just need to finish off the binding now.  I've made 10 flags on 3 metres of binding.

It's not a great photo, but here is the bunting hanging on the gym apparatus in school

I'll take a photo outside when the weather is better

Holiday in West Wales

We stayed close to home this year and had a lovely time travelling up and down the west coast of Wales.

St. David's Cathedral, then onto the ruins of the Bishop's Palace -Cadw card courtesy of Mr Tesco clubcard

 

Then up the hill to a sweet little cafe http://www.sampler-tearoom.co.uk/  Having had a great interest in Samplers for 20 years, I loved this place. There are about 50 samplers on display, each one telling a different story. Lovely cream tea too.

Wherever we go in the UK, there's always a fudge shop to satisfy my son's sweet tooth.

Just dug out my samplers started many moons ago. They're on the to do list.

My wedding sampler

My family tree (although I've edited out the names!)

The Adam & Eve tree was a pattern from

'Making Samplers' by Jutta Lammer

ISBN 0-8069-7772-8

My children's school

This is my first 'married' home.  One of my sons was born in this house.  I was so sad to leave - but needed more space.  I always plant lots of lavender in the garden.

I went to my local library/museum and asked if they had any samplers in the stock room.  They did, and I was invited to spend a day 'studying' them.  I took photos and drew the patterns onto graph paper, and later used them in my own heirloom samplers. I usually started a sampler after a baby was born - and sewed during nap times.  They hold alot of emotion for me.

What to do with a fabric sample book?

 

Make Herbie Hens!!  That's the name I've given them.  I saw a version of these in Cornwall and couldn't find a pattern anywhere. It took a little while to figure out how to get the shape - but then I was away!

 I love visiting Recreate in Cardiff http://www.re-create.co.uk/ it's a great place to find really unusual things and give them a new life. A lucky find was this fabric sample book, and after taking it apart and removing the papery bits, I had a lovely selection of corduroy in lots of different shades.

 

 

 

 The tin by the way is from M&S- a Sanna Annukka design - I love her work

 

Using a Sizzix die to cut out the hearts for the comb and wattle

Place into position, with the hearts facing inwards. I've added a tag ribbon.

 

 

Fold over, right sides together and sew the 2 edges then turn it inside out.

 

 

 

 

Rectangles are made into a little bag, then with a little ingenuity are made into a pyramid shape - tricky when you don't know how, but oh so easy when you do!!

The trick is to just join the seam in the opposite way that you normally would.

 

 

 

 

These guys are made from cotton corduroy fabric,  filled with plastic beans, rice or lentils to weigh them down, then add lavender, shell button eyes and felt beaks.  I used East of India ribbon for the tag.

I made loads of these for the school fete and they went like hot cakes.  These are another lot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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